Ten Premier League predictions before 2026 features three sackings | OneFootball

We’re coming to the end of 2025 and we’ve made 10 Premier League predictions for the last three games of the year. Some teams actually play two with their third on New Year’s Day, but ’10 Premier League predictions for the next three gameweeks’ doesn’t have quite the same ring.

Three sackings, title-race changes and AFCON effects are afoot.

Enzo Maresca sacked

“I already spoke about that and I think I was quite clear,” Maresca said ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Cardiff City, in reference to his suggestion that “the last 48 hours [between the Atalanta defeat and the Everton win] has been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn’t support us.” Could have been clearer, we would argue.

Adding that “I love the fans and I am very happy with the fans” did in fairness remove quite a lot of the ambiguity, and has left us amateur detectives to pin the crime on one, some or all of the Blues higher-ups, of which there are currently dozens.

It’s the bolshy criticism of a manager with far more credit in the bank than Maresca. He’s Antonio Conte but with the Conference League and Club World Cup rather than six league titles. Most report cards from Chelsea fans for Maresca would read ‘good, could do better’, and while many may be frustrated after the progress he’s made should he be sacked, there wouldn’t be the outpouring of grief or anger from the supporters that the Italian must expect to make such a statement.

He’s not untouchable, and apparently also very quick to forget that the Chelsea board have stuck with him at point when the fans would happily have seen the back of him.

Chelsea have Newcastle (A), Aston Villa (H) and Bournemouth (H) left to come in 2025 and a couple of bad results will see the fans turn again, and this time, after breaking ranks and attacking the Chelsea chiefs, they will happily send him packing.

Manchester City top of the table

West Ham haven’t beaten Manchester City in the Premier League since September 2015 when Diafra Sakho scored past Joe Hart, before Pep Guardiola took charge. The Hammers have taken points off City just three times in the 19 games since and never at the Etihad, where they meet next weekend.

City then go to Forest, where Pep will be looking to extend an 18-game unbeaten run against Sean Dyche, which features 16 victories, before a trip to an AFCON-depleted Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

Three wins for our money, meaning Arsenal need only drop points in one of their three games against Everton (A), Brighton (H) and Aston Villa (H) for City to go top of the table.

Aston Villa in the title race

After 10 wins in 11 games has left Aston Villa just three points behind league-leaders Arsenal, it’s becoming more difficult for Unai Emery to insist his side are not in the title race.

“We don’t feel under pressure,” was the latest claim of a manager understandably keen to avoid title-challenger labels lest it affect the quite ludicrous momentum and confidence they’ve built up, which has seen them score a stoppage-time winner to beat Arsenal and come from behind twice to beat West Ham in their last two games.

Manchester United (H), Chelsea (A) and Arsenal (A) is a make-or-break run. Come through largely unscathed and there will be no way for Emery to dismiss the title talk.

Thomas Frank sacked

Frank insisting he needs “time” and that nothing is a “quick fix” feels awfully desperate and is a particularly galling excuse for winning just one and losing four of your last seven Premier League games when after two wins by an aggregate score of 5-0 to start the season many were suggesting that Spurs had hired a manager who didn’t need time and was indeed a quick fix.

A combination of Guglielmo Vicario, Archie Gray and Djed Spence drew focus away from Frank’s damning substitutions against Nottingham Forest, in yet another game where the lack of attacking fluidity or any repeatable pattern in the final third suggests the direction in training or from the sidelines just isn’t getting through to a group of absurdly disconnected footballers.

There’s now ‘total panic’ at Spurs as Frank’s ‘toxic playing style cripples the brand’ and Liverpool (A) and Crystal Palace (H) are arguably the perfect sack bait as teams not good enough for defeats to be brushed off, ahead of a return to his Gtech stomping ground as a fitting place of rest.

Sunderland drop to mid-table

Only Robin Roefs (1440) and Granit Xhaka (1423) have played more minutes than Noah Sadiki (1416) for Sunderland this season and the DR Congo midfielder will be joined by Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) and Bertrand Traore (Burkino Faso) as key members of Regis Le Bris’ high-flying Black Cats squad heading off to AFCON.

They look set to be hit harder than any other Premier League side, and while this season has already taught us to not doubt Sunderland on multiple occasions, there’s surely no world in which they fly through their first season back in the top flight without a bump in the road and this feels as likely a time as any.

Scott Parker sacked

The ‘but look at Daniel Farke’ defence is wearing thin for Parker with Leeds unbeaten in their last three having found a system that works to move them six points clear of Burnley.

Two wins from three games against Crystal Palace (H), Sunderland (A) and Liverpool (A) for Leeds and three consecutive defeats for Burnley in games against Bournemouth (A), Everton (H) and Newcastle (H) would see Parker take the mantle from Farke as the Premier League manager with the worst points per game ratio.

No starts for Kobbie Mainoo

212 Premier League minutes across 11 substitute appearances, and we can’t wait for the balling of fists when the chances afforded to Mainoo by AFCON and the formation change results in no starts ahead of his January exit.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin the leading Three Lion

The only summer signings currently outscoring free agent Calvert-Lewin (5) after his salmon leap and header to equalise against Brentford are Bryan Mbeumo (6) and Hugo Ekitike (7), with Alexander Isak (£125m), Benjamin Sesko (£73.7m), Viktor Gyokeres (£64m), Matheus Cunha (£62.5m) and Joao Pedro (£60m) all lagging behind a guy at the very least meriting questions about his possible inclusion in the England squad next summer.

He’s two goals behind Phil Foden (almost certainly on the plane) and Danny Welbeck (almost certainly not on the plane) in the race to be the Premier League’s top-scoring Englishman.

Kai Havertz for Viktor Gyokeres

Only the smallest of title doubts was required for rivals’ knives to pierce the thin skin of Arsenal fans and Gyokeres is their all-too obvious pressure point.

They should – if anything – be delighted by the thought of winning the title while Gyokeres flops, as cutting a jigsaw to fit rather than finding that last piece of the puzzle, while potentially less gratifying, makes for a far more skilful solution.

And that currently looks like the most likely outcome in what is shaping up to be an excellent Premier League season for Arsenal, who look like a far more fluent and dangerous team without their £64m striker, and can look forward to Havertz’s return – hopefully before the end of December – to further improve that fluency and interchanging of forward positions.