The 2025/26 Premier League season has now come to an end, and it was a rollercoaster of a campaign for a number of sides.

Arsenal have come out on top and claimed their first title since 2004, finishing seven points above Manchester City, who will now have to rebuild without legendary manager Pep Guardiola in the dugout for next season. Behind them, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Liverpool have secured Champions League football, while Bournemouth, Sunderland, and Brighton have claimed Europa League and Conference League spots.

At the other end of the table, Wolves and Burnley were relegated earlier in the campaign, and were joined by West Ham United on the final day, as Tottenham Hotspur secured a late escape thanks to a win in their last game. But with the season now in the rear-view mirror, it’s fascinating to take a look at how teams fared 12 months apart, compared to how they finished up the 2024/25 season.

20-16

It’s not surprise that Wolves, who finished rock bottom after a record-breaking bad season, find themselves much worse off than last season. The team picked up an astonishing 22 points less in 25/26 than they did the year before, and that means they’ll now be playing in the second tier.

West Ham United will feel hard done by after also being relegated, despite hitting 39 points. It’s only the third time that a team has hit that number and been relegated, and the third time that it was West Ham it happened to. The Hammers picked up four less points this season, and that saw them drop from 14th to the Championship.

Tottenham Hotspur stunningly avoided the drop on the final day by defeating Everton, and that win meant that they had three points more than last year, where they finished in the same position in the table.

Nottingham Forest, however, were the team with the third-biggest points swing in the division. The Tricky Trees were 21 points worse off than last year, which saw them drop from 7th all the way down to 15th in a disappointing campaign. Burnley were in the Championship last term, so they can’t be compared.

15-11

In 15th place is last year’s FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, who have had a more disappointing Premier League campaign, which saw them drop from 12th following an eight-point swing. But the team could yet qualify for the Europa League, with a Conference League final to come.

Leeds United finished 14th in the league after being promoted from the Championship last season, but Everton fans will likely be a bit disappointed after some poor end of season form means they finished the 2025/26 season in the same position as last year, with just one additional point on their tally.

Newcastle were playing in the Champions League this season, but fell from 5th all the way down to 12th after a shocking 17-point deficit from their total, with Eddie Howe now likely to oversee a major rebuild at St James’ Park as a result.

Fulham fans will also be a bit disappointed after finishing 11th for a second consecutive season, having finished with two points less than last season, and with manager Marco Silva now looking likely to depart at the end of his contract.

10-6

Rounding off the top half of the table are Premier League giants Chelsea, who have had a season to forget after seeing both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior lose their jobs as manager. The Blues ended the season with just 52 points, and huge 17-point swing from last season.

Above them were Brentford, who earned a place in Europe on the final day, marking a stunning maiden campaign under the management of Keith Andrews. The Bees finished three points worse off than last season, but jumped up a place in the table regardless.

Brighton finished in eighth-place once again, but despite having eight points less than they did last season, they have earned a spot in Europe under Fabian Hurzeler, and will see the season as a major success, while the shock of the season was undoubtedly newly-promoted Sunderland, who finished 7th and secured a Europa League spot.

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side were in with a chance of Champions League football on the final day, and while they didn’t achieve it due to results elsewhere, they will be delighted with their campaign. The Cherries finished 6th in the Premier League, their highest-ever finish, with a point more than last year to boot.

5-1

Defending champions Liverpool had a campaign from hell this year with a number of injuries and poor results, which included 12 league defeats and more than 50 goals conceded. That contributed to a fifth-placed finish, and a jaw-dropping 24-point swing, the biggest in the division.

Aston Villa had a sensational campaign and have topped off a fourth-placed finish with a Europa League win. Unai Emery’s side actually finished one point worse off than they did the previous campaign, but jumped up from sixth to fourth in the 2025/26 season.

In third it was Manchester United, who enjoyed a remarkable run in the second half of the season under Michael Carrick, winning 12 of their last 17 games to earn 29 more points than they did the previous season, and move all the way up 15th as a result. Unsurprisingly, United had the biggest positive points swing in the division.

Man City were in the mix for the title once again this season, and despite claiming seven points more than they did in the previous campaign, Guardiola’s side moved up the table from third to second, but it still wasn’t enough to catch Arsenal. That’s, in part, down to the fact that the Gunners had a sensational season of their own, earning 11 points more than the previous year, to finally get over the line and be crowned champions for the first time in 22 years.

Data via Transfermarkt – as of 25/05/26