Gary Lineker has made his key predictions ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season – and expects Liverpool to win the title once again.
He was joined by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on The Rest Is Football podcast and were in agreement for most decisions.
Last season, Liverpool claimed the title ahead of Arsenal, finishing 10 points clear of the Gunners. Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle United snatched the remaining three UEFA Champions League spots.
Tottenham Hotspur also qualified for UCL after winning the UEFA Europa League. Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest qualified for the Europa League.
Forest got the Europa call after Crystal Palace lost their place (after winning the FA Cup) over multi-club ownership rules. The Eagles will play in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Meanwhile, Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton dropped to the Championship after finishing in the relegation zone.
Gary Lineker Makes Key Premier League Predictions
With the 2025/26 Premier League season about to get underway, Gary Lineker has made some juicy predictions, picking the title winners, European spot holders, and relegation-bound clubs.
Gary Lineker Predicts Liverpool to Win the Premier League
Gary Lineker listed the players Liverpool have sold and signed before concluding that they would win the title once again.
Linker said:
“Liverpool, Blimey. What a window they’ve had. Obviously, they won the league last year. Mo Salah had a remarkable season, 29 goals.
“This is who they’ve brought in: Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen for 29 million, Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for 100 mil, Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for 40 million and Hugo Ekitike. And he was nearly 70 million as well. We’ve lost Diaz, Trent, big loss.”
“Step by step” ✊
Inside the Reds’ dressing room after an important win against Newcastle in February – Watch ‘Champions 24-25: The Inside Story’ on All Red Video 🎬
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 13, 2025
He added:
“I think they’ll miss Trent because of his creativity. But that aside, I mean, Frimpong is a different kind of player to Trent, but he marches up and down the touchline. Kerkez I really like. I think they’re going to win it again.”
Liverpool are favourites to win the Premier League at 19/10 with football betting sites.
Lineker Predicts Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City Will Be in Champions League spots
Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City all qualified for the Champions League last season. Gary Lineker believes they will do it once more this season.
Arsenal
“They have made for a number nine [Viktor Gyokeres], which is what we all addressed and thought was a problem. I mean, it says it all. The top goalscorer last season was Kai Havertz with nine goals.
“Nobody got double figures. Obviously, they had one or two injuries to key players as well, most notably Saka. So, Arsenal second again last year.”
Lineker said much will depend on how Gyokeres gets on, but he did not back them to go the distance, especially because how well Liverpool have strengthened.
Gyokeres goal from this angle is satisfying pic.twitter.com/qlSX5xi335
— Arsenal Team (@_ArsenalTeam) August 12, 2025
“I probably wouldn’t have said that [Arsenal missing out] if it wasn’t that Liverpool have strengthened so well. This is Arsenal’s moment, but a lot too will depend on how Gyokeres does.
“He scored a terrific goal in pre-season, but we all know pre-season is not that important, So, I think a lot will depend on him, but we know he’ll get good service.
He concluded by adding:
“I think they could go close again, but I’m going to agree with both of you [fall short of the Premier League title].”
Chelsea
“Obviously Enzo Maresca has done a fabulous job there, finished fourth last season, the Club World Cup champions, which was amazing,” Lineker continued.
“I definitely think Champions League places, they could be the team that goes maybe close, very close to the title.”
🚨🔵 #Xavi Simons remains fully focused on an agreement between RB Leipzig and Chelsea.
Manchester City are currently not a hot topic. #CFC are staying patient in their pursuit of Xavi. Deal still on.
Current salary at RB Leipzig reaching up to €14m gross if all bonuses are… pic.twitter.com/XrgMvC3Hfg
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 13, 2025
After hearing what Alan Shearer and Micah Richards had to say, Lineker concluded:
“I think they’ll finish higher than they did last season. That was fourth, but I’m not sure they’ll win the title.”
Chelsea lost Levi Colwill to an unfortunate ACL injury. With him ruled out for at least six months, the Blues have seemingly set sights on Palace’s defender Marc Guehi.
But will face a battle for his signature, with Liverpool also after the England man.
Manchester City
“Can City and Pep challenge again?” quizzed Lineker.
“I mean, it seems ridiculous that we’re all so confident that Liverpool are going to do it when he’s won most of the leagues he’s been in. But they have got to find a way of getting back to the side that they were.”
With Rodri likely to miss the opening part of the season, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards believe Man City will struggle in transitions. Lineker agreed and concluded that Man City will only be playing for second place alongside Arsenal and Chelsea.
Gary Lineker Says Burnley, Leeds United, and Sunderland Will be Relegated in His Premier League Predictions
Burnley
Burnley narrowly missed out on the Championship title last season. This season, they will fight with the big boys in the Premier League, and Gary Lineker is not too confident of their chances.
Lineker said on the Rest is Football podcast:
“If they can be as difficult to break down as they were last season in the Championship, and I know it’s a massive if, because it’s a big difference in quality, that will give a team a chance.
“If you can defend and stay in games, you can nick points. I still think they’re in my relegated bunch, but I think they of the three might be the ones that don’t go down.”
Leeds United
Lineker had little to say on Leeds United, as he predicted the Whites will go straight back to the Championship.
1️⃣ week to go! pic.twitter.com/LURe9NHxY4
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 11, 2025
He added:
“I think they’ll probably go back down and Micah [who rents his flat to Leeds boss Daniel Farke] will lose his lease.”
Sunderland
The last of the relegated clubs, Sunderland, are also heading back down, as per Lineker’s Premier League predictions.
On Sunderland, Alan Shearer said Sunderland would find it tough to survive in the Premier League, and predicted they will be relegated.
Shearer said:
“I think they’ll struggle and it’ll be really tough for them. So I’ve got them being relegated again.”
Lineker agreed with the assessment, adding:
“Yeah, me too.”
The new Premier League season begins on Friday, with champions Liverpool hosting Bournemouth at Anfield.
