2025/26 Season Report Cards: Every Premier League Team Rated

The dust has settled, the table is final, and it is time for the verdict. We have gone through all 20 Premier League clubs, top to bottom, and handed each one an honest end of term grade. Crucially, these grades are judged against expectation, not just final position: a club that spent big and slipped backwards is marked harder than one that punched above its weight. We have also factored in cup progress so this will not be solely based on their Premier League performances.

1. Arsenal   Grade: A+

P38  W26  D7  L5  Pts 85  Finish: Champions

After years of going close, the Gunners finally got their hands on the trophy, and they did it the hard way: 26 wins, 85 points, a seven point cushion over City, and a defence that simply refused to break. This was a title built on control rather than chaos, with Arsenal grinding out the kind of 1-0 and 2-1 wins that separate contenders from champions.

Not only did Arsenal romp home to a league win, but they now also face off against arguably the best team on the planet in PSG for the Champions League final. Arsenal’s season is already an A+ but a champions league win as well could take them to atmospheric levels.

 

2. Manchester City   Grade: A

P38  W23  D9  L6  Pts 78  Finish: Runners-up

Second place would be a crisis at the Etihad in some seasons, but 78 points is a serious haul and they pushed Arsenal harder than the gap suggests. A few too many draws (nine of them) ultimately cost them, turning what should have been a title race into a chase they could not quite reel in.

Nonetheless, they were able to cruise home with both the FA Cup and League Cup trophies, bringing their overall season grade up to an A. By most teams standards 2nd in the league and a domestic double would warrant an A+. However, because its City, we feel the + isn’t justified without a Prem or UCL.

 

3. Manchester United   Grade: A-

P38  W20  D11  L7  Pts 71  Finish: 3rd  (15th last season)

Now this is how you judge a season against expectation. United finished a dismal fifteenth last year, their worst in over half a century, and have rocketed up to third with 71 points and only seven defeats. That is one of the great single-season turnarounds, and it earns a grade their raw finish alone might not.

This is even more impressive when you consider how dismal their season was going under Amorim, and how quickly it turned around under Carrick. The only reason for their minus caveat has been their abysmal performance in cup competitions.

 

4. Aston Villa   Grade: A

P38  W19  D8  L11  Pts 65  Finish: 4th

After a slow start, Villa came flying out the blocks in GW6, and at one point had won 13 of 14 games in a row and found themselves 2nd in the league hunting down Arsenal. Naturally however, the toils of European football and fatigue caught up with them as they began to cool off. Nonetheless, 4th is a fantastic result for a Villa side who were projected more around the 5th-8th region.

Normally this would land Villa with a grade closer to a B+. However, when you throw in a resounding Europa League win, there was no other grade for Villa than an A.

 

5. Liverpool   Grade: D

P38  W17  D9  L12  Pts 60  Finish: 5th  (champions last season)

Here is where expectation changes everything. This is the defending champions, a side that spent north of £400m last summer, and they have gone from lifting the trophy to scrapping for fifth. Twenty four points worse off than last season’s title-winning total is a staggering drop, and only the safety net of England’s extra Champions League place spares real embarrassment.

Any time a season is laced with calls for the managers head you know the grade is going to be bad. As new signings like Isak, Frimpong, Kerkez etc, not only failed to make a mark but severely underperformed. Given United and Spurs showed us where the bar is for low big 6 finishes, a D seems appropriate.

 

6. Bournemouth   Grade: B+

P38  W13  D18  L7  Pts 57  Finish: 6th

What a story. Eighteen draws is a Premier League oddity, but only seven defeats all season is genuinely elite, and it propelled Bournemouth to a remarkable sixth. They were the side nobody enjoyed playing, tough, organised and almost impossible to beat. With real talent and flare going forward.

Punching well above their weight, this is a clear B+.

Liverpool finishing below Villa meant they were unfortunate not to qualify for UCL football, but nonetheless can be very happy with Europa League next season.

 

7. Sunderland   Grade: A

P38  W14  D12  L12  Pts 54  Finish: 7th  (promoted)

The best of the promoted sides by a distance. For a newly promoted club to finish seventh and qualify for the Europa League is nothing short of special. As a Newcastle fan it pains me to write it but it is impossible to deny.

they played hard-nosed defensive football all season and if there’s one word which best sums up their play it’s stubborn. You simply can’t dream of a better finish for a freshly promoted side.

 

8. Brighton   Grade: B

P38  W14  D11  L13  Pts 53  Finish: 8th

Classic Brighton: stylish, watchable and just outside the Europa League spots. Fifty three points and eighth is right about par for a side that always seems to play good football without quite cracking the top six. Fourteen wins is a healthy return.

They will be disappointed to be pipped by Sunderland to a Europa League spot no doubt, but nonetheless enjoyed a very solid campaign and will at least have the Conference League to provide some consolation.

 

9. Brentford   Grade: B

P38  W14  D11  L13  Pts 53  Finish: 9th

Level on points with Brighton and separated only on goals, Brentford had another tidy, well run campaign. Fourteen wins and ninth place is exactly the kind of season that keeps a smaller club firmly established in the division.

Given their status coming into the final weeks, they will naturally be very disappointed to miss out on European football. However, let us not forget that many had them finishing in the bottom half and even relegation battle at the beginning of the season, so a B grade feels appropriate given the pre-season expectations.

 

10. Chelsea   Grade: D

P38  W14  D10  L14  Pts 52  Finish: 10th  (4th last season)

A collapse, plain and simple. Chelsea finished fourth and reached the Champions League last season, and have now tumbled all the way to tenth, out of Europe entirely. For a club with this squad, this wage bill and this level of investment, dropping out of the top half is the kind of regression that gets people the sack.

They looked great at the beginning of the season, trundling along in 2nd place and stringing together some great results. Maresca’s sacking and Rosenior’s hiring started a spiral however. with the blues not only losing in the FA Cup final but also slipping out of a European spot.

 

11. Fulham   Grade: C+

P38  W15  D7  L16  Pts 52  Finish: 11th

Fifteen wins is actually a strong tally, but sixteen defeats tells the story of a side that lived on the edge all year. Fulham were always entertaining, rarely dull, and ended up mid table, which is roughly where they belong.

Definitely not a bad season for Marco Silva’s men but definitely not as high as they could’ve finished considering some of the runs they were able to put together. They just always seemed to lose momentum whenever they had built some up.

 

12. Newcastle United   Grade: C-

P38  W14  D7  L17  Pts 49  Finish: 12th  (5th and CL last season)

A real fall from grace on Tyneside. This was a Champions League club last season, finishing fifth, and they have slumped to twelfth and out of Europe altogether. Seventeen defeats for a side with these ambitions and this backing is simply not good enough, and the gap to where they expected to be is vast.

They were able to put together their best UCL campaign I can remember so it wasn’t all bad, but definitely wasn’t good. a C- feels fair.

 

13. Everton   Grade: C

P38  W13  D10  L15  Pts 49  Finish: 13th

Level on points with Newcastle, Everton ground out another season of safe but unspectacular mid table football. Thirteen wins kept them clear of any real bother, and after some recent scares, comfortable will feel just fine to the Goodison faithful.

However, at one point they looked like they could’ve made a real run at European football, so slipping to 13th can’t feel great.

 

14. Leeds United   Grade: B

P38  W11  D14  L13  Pts 47  Finish: 14th  (promoted)

A successful return to the Premier League. For a promoted side, fourteenth and 47 points is mission accomplished, and an enormous fourteen draws shows a team that knew how to dig in and grind out a point when it mattered.

Hard to fault.

 

15. Crystal Palace   Grade: C

P38  W11  D12  L15  Pts 45  Finish: 15th

A quieter year than Palace fans have grown used to. Forty five points and fifteenth is comfortable enough, but eleven wins from 38 is modest, and they never really threatened to push up the table.

However, they do still have a Conference League Final to contend in, which could push their season up to a B- or bring it down to a D+ depending on the result.

 

16. Nottingham Forest   Grade: D+

P38  W11  D11  L16  Pts 44  Finish: 16th

After a much brighter recent campaign, this was a sobering return to the pack for Forest. Sixteenth and 44 points kept them safe, but sixteen defeats meant a few nervous glances over the shoulder before it was confirmed.

They were in the relegation battle until far too late quite frankly. For a team with lofty expectations following the previous campaign, a D+ is only fair.

 

17. Tottenham Hotspur   Grade: E-

P38  W10  D11  L17  Pts 41  Finish: 17th

Genuinely alarming for a club of Spurs’ size. Seventeenth place and just ten wins all season is relegation form in all but name, and they were dragged into a survival scrap nobody at the club saw coming. Seventeen defeats is a damning number.

If an F is relegation than Spurs could only be an E-. Despite salvaging some face in the UCL, a relegation battle which comes down to the final game of the season is nothing short of unacceptable.

 

18. West Ham United   Grade: E

P38  W10  D9  L19  Pts 39  Finish: 18th  (relegated)

Relegation, and few could argue it was undeserved. Nineteen defeats and just 39 points sent the Hammers down after a dismal campaign that never got going. For a club with this history and this stadium, it is a bitter, bitter blow.

Now this is not like a Burnley or Wolves, expectations were for West Ham to finish mid-table at minimum, not relegation. There is no way to square this grade where it is not at minimum an E.

 

19. Burnley   Grade: D

P38  W4  D10  L24  Pts 22  Finish: 19th  (relegated)

Straight back down. Four wins all season and 24 defeats tells you everything: Burnley were simply not equipped for life in the top flight this time around. The ten draws hint at a side that competed without ever knowing how to win.

They get a better grade than West Ham purely due to expectations but nonetheless a very disappointing season.

 

20. Wolverhampton Wanderers   Grade: F

P38  W3  D11  L24  Pts 20  Finish: 20th  (relegated)

Bottom of the pile, and a truly grim season at Molineux. Three wins from 38 games and a meagre 20 points made this a relegation that was confirmed long before the end. Once the dust settles, this will go down as one to wipe from the memory.

Even with this expectations this was an abysmal season from Wolves. They get an F grade because quite frankly the season could not have gone worse.

 

check out our Feature Articles for more Prem Insights.