At the start of the Premier League season, the top questions were clear: Could Liverpool repeat? The defending champions had spent over $500 million to deepen and freshen up their squad, but did that throw off their balance? And what might Mohamed Salah have in store after the contract year of all contract years?
The answers: No, yes, and not much. Liverpool lost six of seven league matches in a spell from late-September through late-November, then went another five matches without a win in January. Their rapid demise opened the door for a different champion, and Arsenal marched right in.
We think. The Gunners lead a charging Manchester City by two points in the table, they probably still have to win their last two matches, and they really haven't been the best team in the league since January or February. But they're close.
We'll see if they can finish the job over the next two weekends. But in the meantime, it's time to check on everyone's form one last time before the season ends.
Below are our final updated power rankings for the 2025-26 season, followed by some analysis of the most notable changes from our previous rankings in February. Arsenal and City lead the way, but pretty much every team between No. 3 and No. 15 is up for debate. Here's what we came up with.
The updated Premier League team rankings
Our re-rankings -- the combination of the individual rankings from Bill Connelly and Ryan O'Hanlon -- are listed along with the last rankings from February, and each team's present points total and ranking in the Premier League table.
ESPN's Premier League rankings
Man City are back to No. 1. What took so long?
Really, Manchester City are always supposed to rank No. 1 on a list like this.
They have the most celebrated manager of the 21st Century leading what has been, per Transfermarkt, the most high-value roster in the league every season since 2016-17. (That season, they were the second-most valuable behind the Chelsea of Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kanté and Thibaut Courtois.) Best talent + best coach = best team -- that's not particularly advanced math there.
This is, however, the first time City have ranked No. 1 on this list since early in the 2024-25 season. After the typically excellent start to their Premier League campaign that season -- 23 points in nine matches and a one point lead over a torrid Liverpool -- Pep Guardiola's squad fell into a funk that, depending on how you define it, lasted well over a year.