A new year brings new hopes, new dreams and new expectations for football clubs and fans alike. For some, though, it will look like the coming 12 months will bring nothing but doom.

The Premier League has a reputation for delivering the unexpected, and whether you land on the optimistic or pessimistic side of the pitch, there are sure to be one or two surprises in store for 2025.

With every single Premier League side playing at least half of their games this season, the league table is starting to give us some hints as to how the rest of the campaign will play out.

But with the January transfer window now open, the complexion of things could shift dramatically in a hurry. And by the time the summer signing season approaches, the shape of the league could be unrecognizable.

Ahead, we've selected one prediction for every Premier League club in 2025. Some affect the current season, others won't apply until after the campaign's curtain has closed. All prophecies, however, are certainly bold.

Arsenal: Close Gap at the Top

On December 31, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told reporters that his club will close the points gap to league leaders Liverpool in the second half of the campaign.

After Saturday's 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion, the Gunners are six points off the Reds, who have a game in hand.

That seems like a large gulf that's getting trickier to shrink, but the prediction here is that Arsenal will still make the Anfield club sweat.

Pressure is the ultimate leveler, and despite Liverpool opening up a healthy lead in the title race, the prospect of the Merseysiders winning their 20th top-flight title and pulling level with hated rivals Manchester United as the most successful side in England's top division will lead to plenty of nerves.

The Reds still have to play two Merseyside derbies and have a sizable target on their back. Injuries and fatigue from playing deep into multiple competitions will start to add up, and Arsenal will be right there breathing down their necks as arguably the second-most complete team in the Premier League. The return of Bukayo Saka is essential, though.

Arsenal can bring the race to within five points going into the final weeks, but they'll again miss out on the top prize. If the Gunners fail to bridge the gulf significantly, here's your bonus bold prediction: Arteta will be sacked by the end of the year.

Aston Villa: Reach the Champions League Semifinals

The 2024-25 domestic season might not be going quite as intended for Aston Villa, but their record in Europe has been sublime.

The Villans have won four of their six European matches, with just one surprising away loss to Club Brugge and a scoreless draw to European royalty Juventus in the other two.

Those victories have come against Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Bologna and Young Boys, and their remaining fixtures are against Monaco and Celtic. They can be confident of picking up six points in those games, securing their path to the knockout rounds and avoiding a grueling playoff fixture.

From there, few European teams will fancy a trip to Birmingham in the early months of 2025, and Unai Emery has significant experience in continental competition to guide his side to the latter stages.

While they aren't likely to return to the competition next season, they can make their experience this year one to remember.

Bournemouth: Finish in the Top Six

Something special is going on down on the south coast. Bournemouth are seventh in the Premier League table, one point behind Manchester City in sixth and two points behind fifth-placed Newcastle United.

Andoni Iraola has assembled a squad full of young, exciting talent signed on a shoestring budget, and the Cherries have surprised plenty, picking up headline-making wins against Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

If they can maintain that momentum against the league's typically stronger teams and stop dropping points to comparatively lesser sides, they could really make an assault on the top six in 2024-25.

A sixth-place finish could land them in the Europa League or Europa Conference League next season, marking a first-ever appearance in European competition for the club.

It would be a remarkable achievement, and as things stand, you wouldn't begrudge the fans for getting their hopes up.

Brentford: Earn Their Highest Premier League Finish

Brentford picked up an away win for the first time this season on Saturday, beating a shocking Southampton side 5-0.

With that curse seemingly lifted, the Bees can be more confident heading into future road matches and add to the impressive points tally they've accrued at home.

After Matchday 20, they are just three points off Fulham in ninth, and a top-half finish looks within their grasp.

Brentford finished ninth in the 2022-23 season, but we're saying Thomas Frank can take them one place higher by the time the current campaign concludes.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Dragged Deep into Bottom Half

Things were going so well for Brighton & Hove Albion at the start of the season, losing just two of their first 13 games, picking up 23 points and getting statement wins against both Manchester sides and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, they haven't won in their last eight, picking up just six points in that time.

The Seagulls are still sitting in a position well above their relative stature, but they are sinking fast and will continue to drop down the table if they don't right the ship soon.

The waters will continue to be choppy for the south-coast side, and the ocean floor could be coming into view soon if they aren't careful. By season's end, they won't be completely sunk, but there are sizable holes to plug.

If Fabian Hürzeler isn't careful, he will be fighting off a mutiny.

Chelsea: Finish Outside All of the European Spots

For a fleeting moment, it looked like Chelsea could be up for a title challenge. But then they lost two of three over the festive period—including a 2-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town—to put them right back out of contention. A 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday only made the situation worse.

The outlook at Stamford Bridge is still notably improved compared to last year, but we might have got ahead of ourselves when seeing signs that the Blues were approaching their previously formidable strength.

Again, a blip during the final throes of December and early January could be leading to a further overreaction on my part, but I'm in the business of bold predictions, and I'm ready to say manager Enzo Maresca's young, expensive squad has been found out again.

That will see the Blues fail in their ambitions to return to any European competition next season, with even an exit in the Europa Conference League in their future.

But this is Chelsea. Expect the unexpected.

Crystal Palace: Close the Season on a High

Crystal Palace finished last season in seriously impressive form, winning six of their last eight, suggesting great things to come in the 2024-25 campaign.

The Eagles haven't built on that, though, with just four wins from 20 leaving them in 15th. If you take a step back, it doesn't seem so bad, as they are only three points away from Spurs in 12th. However, it's a far cry from where they should be based on the blistering end to 2023-24.

But who is to say that burst in the final weeks won't happen again? As it stands, their remaining eight fixtures include trips to Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, which looks like a seriously tough gauntlet to run.

The Reds, though, might be in holiday mode at that point, while Spurs are erratic at best and Manchester City are far from their usual standards.

Could Palace again find that rich vein of form that led to such promise? In that eight-game stretch last year, they beat Liverpool at Anfield, thrashed West Ham United, Aston Villa and Manchester United at home, and comfortably beat Newcastle United 2-0.

That's not a great sample size to go on, and this is particularly bold considering the fixture list and their form so far in 2024-25, but bold is exactly what we're here for.

Palace go undefeated in eight to close the season? Why not.

Everton: Start Next Season Strong

Everton fans are starting to forget what the top half of the Premier League table looks like. The Toffees haven't finished higher than 10th since 2018-19, and they've been fighting relegation more often than not since then.

But there are silver linings over the Blue half of Merseyside. Everton should be into their new stadium for the next campaign, while new ownership might be willing to loosen the purse strings once more to bring in some fresh blood.

Perhaps a change of scenery will be just what the club needs, and perhaps they drop the identity they have cultivated in their final years at Goodison Park.

Everton will kick-start the new era with some impressive results to truly make the Bramley-Moore Dock area feel like home, and they'll carry that feeling all the way to the end of the 2025-26 season as they return to the top 10.

Fulham: Lose Marco Silva

Fulham manager Marco Silva took a reputational hit following an ill-fated spell at Everton, leaving the club 18th in the Premier League table in December 2019.

The years since for the Toffees suggest that was not all down to Silva, and that the reputation he had built during stints with Estoril, Sporting CP, Olympiacos and Watford wasn't mere good fortune.

With Fulham, Silva is again proving to be a fine manager, guiding the club to promotion from the Championship in 2022 before earning a 10th-place finish in their first season back in the top flight. In 2024-25, the west Londoners are up to ninth in the table.

That managerial prowess will not go unnoticed, and Silva could again find himself taking a step up in his career.

Of course, Fulham will fight to keep the 47-year-old, but he's shown before that he's not afraid to bet on himself, with a standoff with Watford in 2018 amid interest from Everton leading to his controversial departure from Vicarage Road.

This year will be the last one that Silva finds himself in the Craven Cottage dugout.

Ipswich Town: Survive the Drop

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, it looked like Ipswich Town would be the most likely of the promoted sides to go right back down to the Championship.

But manager Kieran McKenna is doing a solid job, keeping the Tractor Boys above the other Premier League returnees—Leicester City and Southampton—and picking up impressive wins against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

Ipswich are the only team out of that trio to keep faith with their manager, and that could pay dividends by the end of the campaign.

The 38-year-old has some serious managerial potential after achieving back-to-back promotions for the club to bring them back to the top flight for the first time since 2002. Sticking with the former Manchester United assistant manager could help them remain in the division.

It'll be close, but Ipswich can continue to surprise and grab a couple more valuable victories to ensure survival.

Leicester City: Sack Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy's brief managerial career has been fairly successful. He earned two trophies at PSV Eindhoven, and he won three out of four games as interim manager of former club Manchester United.

That was enough to convince Leicester City he was the man to save them from a return to the Championship.

Things started so well, with a 3-1 victory over West Ham United and a 2-2 draw with Brighton suggesting the board had picked sensibly. However, the Foxes haven't earned a Premier League point since, conceding 14 in the process.

Upon the Dutchman's hiring, there was likely an agreement that if he couldn't keep the club in the top flight, he'd be allowed the chance to bring them back up next season. However, the Leicester hierarchy can be ruthless, and if results don't improve quickly, the board won't be shy to pull the trigger.

Van Nistelrooy does have some promise as a young manager, but he won't be allowed to fulfill it with Leicester.

Liverpool: Lose Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold in the Summer

Losing three of the best players in the Premier League and perhaps the best in their respective positions in the world is unthinkable for any club.

But Liverpool are dragging their feet with contract renewals for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the trio could all be plying their trade elsewhere next season.

Salah is having one of the best seasons of his career at age 32, while Van Dijk is as solid as ever at 33. Seeing both leave would be devastating, but with the board perhaps anticipating they are approaching the end of their playing careers, a big-money contract might not make a lot of financial sense as the years start to catch up.

Alexander-Arnold, though, is a homegrown star and just 26 years of age, and seeing him reach his peak years at another club will be heart-breaking for the Anfield fans.

At the start of the season, it seemed inconceivable that all three would be departing Merseyside. But with every day that a name isn't scrawled on a contract, the more likely it seems.

Liverpool have proved adept at succession-planning in recent years, so there is probably a plan in place. From the outside, though, things look a bit desperate.

It seems likely that at least one will be wearing red in the 2025-26 season, but the prediction here is that the club will have vacant No. 4, No. 11 and No. 66 shirts to fill before the next campaign.

Manchester City: Miss the Top Four

If you read this slide at the start of the season, it would be in a "Borderline Impossible Predictions for Every Premier League Team in 2025" article.

However, impossible things are apparently happening in the north-west of England, with Manchester City on a terrible run of form and sitting sixth in the Premier League table.

They have only lost more than six games in a season twice in the last 13 campaigns (2015-16, 2019-20), but with another defeat, that will become three times in 14 years.

There are small signs of recovery from the Citizens after Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of West Ham United, but if they are not careful, they could miss out on Champions League football for the first time since 2010.

It would be weird to see a team boasting such formidable talent not be a part of Europe's top club competition, but it's been a weird season for Pep Guardiola's side. And not hearing that famous Champions League music next campaign will be an appropriate punishment for their poor performances.

Manchester United: Survive Relegation by Single Digits

The bad vibes in Manchester aren't just limited to the blue half. Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League and just seven points off the relegation zone.

It's been a rough few years for the Red Devils since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, but things are particularly bleak right now.

New head coach Ruben Amorim is trying to implement a philosophy at an awkward stage of the season with a collection of players that doesn't seem to suit his ideas. He has only delivered two wins in nine Premier League games, and he often cuts an exasperated figure on the touchline.

Fans of other clubs are no doubt enjoying the Red Devils' decline, and plenty will be joking that relegation is in their future. But that possibility is becoming an increasing worry for the Old Trafford club.

"Too good to go down" has rarely applied so strongly to any team as it does United, and it will prove to be true in this case. They will rattle some nerves, though, and will be fewer than 10 points clear of the drop zone by season's end.

Newcastle United: Make a Statement Signing

According to The i Paper's Mark Douglas, Newcastle United are on course to make their first profit in five years and should avoid punishment from the Football Association's Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

That should allow the board to open the chequebook again and bring a statement player to the north-east.

When Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund took over the club in 2021, big signings like Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Sven Botman and Nick Pope soon arrived through the St. James' Park doors. Those incomings have dried up in the last few transfer windows as the club got its finances in order.

But with that issue seemingly being resolved, we can expect another big acquisition if not in January then when the summer window swings open.

The next phase of the Magpies' rebuilding project could be set to begin.

Nottingham Forest: Earn Champions League Qualification

At the end of the 2023-24 campaign, Nottingham Forest finished 17th and only seven points clear of relegation.

In 2024-25, the east Midlands side are somehow third after an impressive 12 wins from 20.

It's easy to get carried away when a surprising team makes a trip towards the top of the table, and usually the bubble bursts after a while and they settle back in midtable. But Forest just keep picking up quality results, and a settled squad, a formidable back line and an astute manager is looking like the perfect recipe to keep the Tricky Trees up where they used to belong.

If they can sustain their form, they could be looking at their first return to European football since the 1995-1996 UEFA Cup. Not only that, but they could also land in the Champions League, the prestige club competition on the continent.

Forest have two European titles to their credit, and returning to the top table will be a more than welcome sight for the fans who watched their club drop as far as League One in the last 20 years.

Southampton: Break Record for Worst Premier League Team

At the end of 2007-2008 Premier League season, Derby County were confirmed to be the worst team to have ever played in the competition, picking up just 11 points after one win, eight draws, and 29 defeats.

Southampton have earned one Premier League win this season, and it's hard to see where another victory might come from. With three draws and 16 defeats making up the rest of the Saints' results, they could soon be taking a title from Derby that the Rams will be thrilled to be rid of.

New manager Ivan Jurić may yet turn things around, but it's looking unlikely. Saints will return to the Championship for next season with a record they won't want to put in the club museum.

Tottenham Hotspur: Win the Carabao Cup

Ange Postecoglou is seemingly on the brink of a Tottenham Hotspur exit, but he is possibly three games away from picking up the club's first notable silverware since 2008.

The Australian is bullish about the club's prospects, too, telling Sky Sports in September that he "always win[s] things" in his second year at a club.

At the moment, the Carabao Cup looks like his best shot. Spurs will have to come through a two-legged tie with Liverpool before a potential final against Arsenal or Newcastle, but the Reds might not see the tournament as a priority, and when things come down to the final, the form book goes out the window.

Tottenham have had bad luck with injuries, especially at the back, and if a couple of players return refreshed and fit for the Wembley Stadium showpiece, they will fancy their chances.

Spurs to end their trophy drought in 2025? OK, stop laughing.

West Ham United: David Moyes Returns

David Moyes was in the stands for West Ham United's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.

Maybe the Scot is as good as it gets for the Hammers.

They've tried replacing him with Manuel Pellegrini. That didn't work. They've tried replacing him Julen Lopetegui. That hasn't worked, either.

The truth is, the 61-year-old has been West Ham's most successful manager in years, despite the fact that his football isn't the prettiest to watch. He brought Europa Conference League success in the 2022-23 season and took the club as high as sixth in the Premier League in 2020-21—their best top-flight finish since 1998-99.

After another attempt to upgrade the manager, Lopetegui is not working out, with the club sitting in 14th with just six wins from 20.

If those poor results continue, it won't be long before Moyes is back in town.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Go Down by a Single Point

The arrival of Vitor Pereira in the Molineux dugout has looked like a masterstroke in the early going, with the Portuguese picking up six points in four games in his tenure so far.

That's been enough to drag Wolverhampton Wanderers out of the drop zone. The hard part will be ensuring they stay there.

A new manager bounce is not unheard of when clubs hire a new coach, but staying airborne rather than crashing back to Earth is another thing entirely. Considering that one of those wins came against fellow strugglers Leicester City, it's wise not to read too much into things at the moment.

Wolves will not be able to sustain this kind of momentum. It looks like a tussle between them and Ipswich to stay clear of the drop, and my hunch is the Tractor Boys have just enough to survive.

The west Midlands side will run them close, but they'll fall back down to the Championship for the first time since 2018—and there will only be a point in it.