The 2025–26 season was the 146th competitive association football season in England.
National teams
England men's national football team
Results and fixtures
Friendlies
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Group K
2026 FIFA World Cup
2026 FIFA World Cup Group L
2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
England women's national football team
Results and fixtures Friendlies
UEFA Women's Euro 2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025 Group D
Knockout Stage
2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA League A Group A3
UEFA competitions UEFA Super Cup
UEFA Champions League
League phase
Arsenal
Chelsea
Liverpool
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur
Knockout phase
Knockout phase play-offs
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Europa League
League phase
Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest
Knockout phase
Knockout phase play-offs
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Conference League
Qualifying round
Play-off round
League phase
Crystal Palace
Knockout phase
Knockout phase play-offs
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Women's Champions League
Qualifying rounds
Second qualifying round
Semi-finals
Final
Third qualifying round
League stage
Arsenal
Chelsea
Manchester United
Knockout phase
Knockout phase play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
UEFA Youth League
UEFA Champions League Path
Arsenal
Chelsea
Liverpool
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur
Domestic Champions Path
Second round
Third round
Knockout phase
Round of 32
Round of 16
League competitions (Men's) League DivisionPromoted to league Relegated from league Premier League Leeds United Burnley Sunderland Leicester City Ipswich Town Southampton Championship Birmingham City Wrexham Charlton Athletic Luton Town Plymouth Argyle Cardiff City League One Doncaster Rovers Port Vale Bradford City AFC Wimbledon Crawley Town Bristol Rovers Cambridge United Shrewsbury Town League Two Barnet Oldham Athletic Carlisle United Morecambe National League Brackley Town Truro City Scunthorpe United Boreham Wood Dagenham & Redbridge Maidenhead United AFC Fylde Ebbsfleet United
Premier League
Despite criticism about their style of play, Arsenal finally managed to pull over the line and secure their first league title since 2004; the Gunners led the table for virtually the entire season from October onwards and secured the title on the penultimate weekend, coupling the league title with an astonishing run all the way to the Champions League final in Budapest - and then just losing the final on penalties. In what turned out to be Pep Guardiola's final season at the helm, Manchester City finished 2nd, eventually paying the price for too many draws especially throughout 2026, including a run of four games without a win at the start of the year, all that in spite of remaining undefeated against Arsenal as well as winning both domestic cups.
The decision by Manchester United to sack manager Ruben Amorim after a tough first half of the season and hire Michael Carrick on an initial interim basis before being made permanent in May proved a masterstroke as the Red Devils stormed their way to 3rd place to return to the Champions League after a three-year absence. Also returning to the Champions League were Aston Villa, who enjoyed a fantastic season; despite a terrible start, the Villains rapidly scaled the table and at Christmas even looked likely of mounting a shock title challenge; that did not come true by virtue of several poor runs of form in 2026, eventually finishing fourth, but it was in Europe where they stunned everyone as Villa secured just their second European title (and their first since 1982) and their first trophy in 30 years by winning the Europa League, winning all but two of their games all the way to the final to secure coach Unai Emery's fifth title in the competition. The final Champions League spot went to Liverpool; much like their last title win in 2020, the Reds' title defence fell apart after a good start to the season - not helped by pre-season struggles, including the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota, and injuries - with several heavy losses and poor patches of form throughout the season consigning the Merseyside club to 5th place, increasing fan scrutiny on head coach Arne Slot and ultimately costing him his job days after the season ended.
AFC Bournemouth enjoyed their best ever campaign; despite being tipped to struggle following the high-profile departures of the summer, an electric start to the season saw the club standing in 2nd place in late October; failure to pick up a win until early January saw the Cherries slide all the way to 15th place, but they more than made up for it after that point with an impressive 18-match unbeaten streak, only too many draws preventing the south coast club from an astonishing top five finish – although they still managed to secure their very first European foray for next season by virtue of a 6th-place finish (the highest in their history) in what turned out to be Andoni Iraola's final season. Sunderland finished in 7th; the club enjoyed the best season for a newly promoted club in seven years, spending the first half of the season mounting an astonishing Champions League challenge before fading away from December onwards; the Black Cats recovered impressively in the closing stages to secure their first European campaign in 53 years as well as their highest finish in 25 years, on top of winning both games against bitter rivals Newcastle United. The final side to secure European qualification were Brighton; the Seagulls looked like remaining in mid-table for virtually the entire season before a late surge propelled them into the European positions as they eventually finished 8th.
Another side to defy expectations was Brentford; the Bees were expected to struggle following the high-profile departures of the summer as well as the hiring of inexperienced manager Keith Andrews following the loss of highly-regarded manager Thomas Frank, but managed to solidify themselves in the top half of the table and remain in the hunt for Europe until the dying minutes of the season. Chelsea endured yet another mediocre season, a reasonable start falling apart in the festive period and leading to the sacking of manager Enzo Maresca; his replacement in Liam Rosenior oversaw a temporary improvement in form, but a horrendous run of form in the spring coupled with a heavy aggregate defeat at the Champions League round of 16 saw him sacked and killed any hopes for the Blues who failed to secure a European campaign for next season, only a year after winning the Conference League and less than 12 months after winning the Club World Cup. Fulham, Newcastle United and Everton endured similarly disappointing seasons, the Magpies never looking like once again finishing in the European positions and eventually finishing 12th, on top of losing both games against bitter rivals Sunderland - despite reaching the Champions League round of 16, whilst Fulham, in what turned out to be Marco Silva's final season, and Everton, in David Moyes' first full season back at the helm and their first campaign at Hill Dickinson Stadium, had to settle for 11th and 13th respectively for the second successive campaign. A good start for Crystal Palace fell rapidly apart, the Eagles winning just four games from mid-December onwards to secure a 15th-place finish; it was in Europe, however, where they enjoyed success by winning the Conference League in what was their first participation in any European competition in what turned out to be Oliver Glasner's final season in charge. Besides Sunderland, another newly promoted side in Leeds United survived; the Whites looked like struggling early on, before several great runs of form from December propelled the West Yorkshire club away from danger and into 14th place, only missing out on a potential top-half finish and being prevented from an astonishing race for European qualification by virtue of several draws as well as a return of just two away wins.
After eight years in the top flight and a succession of lower place finishes and relegation escapes, Wolverhampton Wanderers' luck finally ran out and the Old Gold endured the drop, spending virtually the entire season bottom of the table whilst also enduring the worst start in Premier League history, winning their first game in early January. Next to go down were Burnley, the club paying the price for winning just one game from November onwards as they endured an immediate return to the Championship and ensuring a fifth consecutive season alternating between the top two divisions with manager Scott Parker departing following relegation. The battle for the last relegation place went to the last day; West Ham were the unlucky side to go down, paying the price for a terrible first half of the season with manager Graham Potter getting sacked just five games into the campaign - despite his replacement in Nuno Espirito Santo leading the club to an improved second half which saw the Hammers take the battle for survival to the last day, they were unable to see out as their 14-year top flight run (the joint-longest of any side not including the top six, Aston Villa and Everton) came to an end (whilst finishing with the most points earned by a relegated side in 15 years) amid off-field anger towards the ownership. Despite a good start falling apart in terrible fashion under Thomas Frank and then enduring an even more disastrous spell under Igor Tudor which saw the club fall into the relegation zone, Tottenham Hotspur recovered just enough under Italian Roberto De Zerbi to secure survival and continue their 48-year presence among the elite, whereas Nottingham Forest endured a very turbulent campaign, changing managers three times and remaining deep into relegation trouble until a late improvement under Vitor Pereira saw the Reds secure their survival for another season, on top of reaching the Europa League semi-finals.
Championship
After several near-misses and heartbreak during the last few years, and after having played in League Two as recently as 2018, Coventry City finally ended their 25-year exile from the Premier League in style; in Frank Lampard's first full season in charge, the Sky Blues went on a blistering early run of form, claiming first place for nearly the entire season, with only a poor run of form in the winter preventing the club from breaking points and goalscoring records. The race for second place was settled in the final minutes of the season and was won by Ipswich Town; the Tractor Boys overcame a slow start, solidifying themselves in the top six from December onwards and taking advantage of going into the last few weeks with games in hand, eventually coming on top to bounce back from their relegation last year and give manager Kieran McKenna his third promotion with the club in four seasons. Southampton and Hull City prevailed at the play-off semi-finals to reach the final at Wembley - only for the Saints to be expelled from the playoffs altogether days before the final after being found guilty of spying on playoff opponents Middlesbrough, the Boro taking their place instead - the final saw Hull win out right at the death, ending both a nine-year exile from the top flight and a remarkable first season under Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirović that first saw two transfer bans imposed on the Tigers and the club scrape into the playoff places in the closing minutes of the campaign - a feat made even more impressive considering the fact the Tigers avoided relegation into League One last year by virtue of goal difference.