Premier League season predictions: Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville pick the title winner and players to watch in 2026/27 | Football News

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville made their 2026/27 Premier League season predictions on Monday Night Football.

Title winners

Jamie Carragher – Arsenal

A few weeks ago, I thought Man City might have a chance – but it was all around Rodri. If Rodri stayed I’d maybe make a case for them, but without Rodri, I just can’t see it.

Gary Neville – Arsenal

One hundred per cent Arsenal. They’re way out in front. With what they’ve got already now in defence and in midfield, with the good attackers that they’ve got, they’ve got a really good standard, then they’re fine.

Top-four finishers

Jamie Carragher – Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool

Man City are better than Chelsea but the European factor can play a huge part. We saw Manchester United last season. It gives them a big lift, Chelsea.

I think Liverpool would want more, but I think just looking at the Chelsea situation, Liverpool where they are right now, I don’t see any way they’d be in the top two, and I don’t see any way they can mount a title challenge.

Gary Neville – Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd

Chelsea second? Just purely because of the fact that they’ve got no European football. If they keep Enzo Fernandez, with Moises Caicedo in midfield, with that front three, and they’re only playing 45 games, they’re going to amass an enormous amount of points.

That’s based upon the fact that they’re going to have more free weeks, they’re not going to have the injury pressures, they’re not going to have the travelling that comes with European football, and the mental fatigue that comes with that. I think they’ll just edge past Manchester City.

I can’t separate Man Utd and Liverpool in fourth place, I genuinely have no idea. I think City are in a better position than United. At the moment, I’m not convinced by United or Liverpool, but I do think they’ll finish fourth and fifth.

Fifth and sixth?

Jamie Carragher – Man Utd, Spurs

Gary Neville – Liverpool, Brighton

Sometimes you look at Spurs going, ‘oh, they’ve spent a lot of money’ and thinking ‘quite exciting for Spurs fans, they’re finally splashing the cash’. But then I look at the team and I think, ‘where’s it all gone?’

Savinho and Omar Marmoush will make them a lot better, but I just don’t know whether they’ll pull it together and that’s the question.

I know Brighton are a good unit, they’re reliable, they’re consistent and I think Brentford and Brighton, those two teams this season may just get in there because they’re consistent and they know what they’re doing and they’re well-drilled.

A well-organised, well-drilled team will beat a team of talented players who are still trying to find their way.

European contender?

Jamie Carragher – Brentford

A lot of people say, when you’re managing a club like Brentford, which is so well-run behind the scenes and the hierarchy, it makes it easier for the manager. Of course it does – but watching them this weekend, watching them last season…

Brentford haven’t got European football, so I think that will be a big plus for them. I really love watching Brentford play, and for me, that was the best performance of the week [their win over Spurs].

Gary Neville – Spurs

Relegated

Jamie Carragher – Ipswich, Hull, Sunderland

Why Sunderland? The fact that they’ve got European football, they’re going to be doing a lot of Thursday-Sunday. I think Sunderland last season reminded me a little bit of Sheffield United under Chris Wilder, where they came up and had a really brilliant season, finished high up the table but a lot of the games, like Sunderland, you win by the odd goal.

I’m not saying it’s luck but their underlying numbers had them not far away from relegation.

Gary Neville – Coventry, Hull, Ipswich

I hope that one or two of the promoted sides stay up but I’ve not got the faith I had last season.

Having watched what I’ve seen this weekend, I’m going to go for the three promoted teams to go down.

Relegation risk

Jamie Carragher – Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace haven’t had a great pre-season. They lost the first game at Everton, which, to be fair, they were actually very unlucky when you look at the chances they had. I know they had Europe last season, but a new manager, new in the Premier League, lost a few players, still in Europe… I’d probably go Crystal Palace to have a scare.

Gary Neville – Fulham

Watching Fulham [against Chelsea], that’s a risk, that’s a big risk. Young players, splitting your centre-backs like that, being open…

Top scorer

Jamie Carragher – Erling Haaland

Gary Neville – Erling Haaland

Impact signing

Jamie Carragher – Mateus Fernandes, Spurs

I really liked Mateus Fernandes last season at West Ham and I thought there might be another few teams in for him, better teams than Spurs.

Gary Neville – Bruno Guimaraes, Arsenal

He’s the best signing by a mile.

If you take a player out of Arsenal’s team anywhere, probably David Raya is the other one, but in the outfield parts of the pitch, there isn’t a drop-off between the first and second choice anywhere, apart from Declan Rice. There’s a massive drop when Declan Rice moves out of the team. If Rice gets injured for three months, that would be a risk to Arsenal.

The signing of [Bruno Guimaraes] removes that risk.

He is a massive personality. A different player than Rice but you talk about personality and character on the pitch… he is a brilliant personality. He believes he can win every single football match for his team. He believes he can tackle, he’s aggressive, he’s somebody you’d want alongside you…And by the way, £75m compared to some of the others that have gone for more is value in this market.

Player to watch

Jamie Carragher – Jeremy Jacquet, Liverpool

He’s played one Premier League game and he’s only played one pre-season game for Liverpool. [Jeremy Jacquet] looked really good in both games but you know sometimes when you look at a player and they just look the part.

I think this is the first season where a player alongside Virgil van Dijk is going to have to play his own game and at times look after Van Dijk.

Gary Neville – Morgan Rogers, Chelsea

When you’re a £120m player you’ve got to hit numbers. You’ve got to be 12, 15 goals, you’ve got to be 10, 12 assists or else you’re going to come under pressure.

We know he’s a good player, Morgan Rogers. We’d all like him at our clubs. But £120m? Wow.

If he can deliver this season for Chelsea they can go and push Arsenal.

Manager to watch

Jamie Carragher – Matthias Jaissle, Newcastle

He’s only young but he’s got that little twinkle in his eye. I think Matthias Jaissle will be a fiery character in the Premier League. He’s coming to Newcastle, a huge football club, and put in that performance [on Sunday]. I think he’s got something about him.

Gary Neville – Xabi Alonso, Chelsea

If he gets the recruitment right and he keeps the players in those front areas of the pitch and he sorts the defence and the goalkeeper out he could be the emerging manager – out of that five that are below Mikel Arteta that are trying to win the league – he could be the next one to win the league

I think this season is critical for him because he’s got to finish second or a good third because if he doesn’t, without European football, with that squad that he’s amassed, then there would be questions.

He’s the manager of Chelsea – that means that he basically makes the final decision on transfers, on recruitment. If he goes and does one or two pieces of business in this next week or so, he’s got to look after himself and demand that he gets that one or two players in this next week and we know where those areas are.