Perhaps the most intriguing storyline heading into the 2026-27 Premier League season is the incredible number of new managers in charge.
Almost half the league has a new coach, with nine Premier League teams appointing a new manager over the summer.
That is unprecedented and will lead to huge levels of unpredictability in the opening months of the campaign as they all settle in. Or don’t.
Which managers have the best chance of success? Who could struggle? We break it all down below.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride
Matthias Jaissle - Coming in to replace Eddie Howe, who left very unexpectedly, is a real challenge. Especially given that Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes have all left too. Jaissle seems to be a positive character and everyone speaks highly of his time in Austria with RB Salzburg and Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, but the German coach is really up against it from the start. Newcastle still have a very decent squad but ushering in a new high-intensity style of play while big changes happen behind-the-scenes is going to be tough.
Alvaro Arbeloa - Clearly an extremely talented coach who has done well with Real Madrid’s youngsters, but the former Spanish international defender is overseeing a huge squad overhaul for the Cottagers. Marco Silva finally moved on this summer and so did plenty of experienced players. Fulham’s squad looks pretty bare and you worry about the owners becoming twitchy if Arbeloa doesn’t pick up any wins in the first month. Looking at their schedule, that is very possible. Fulham will probably be fine but getting drawn into the relegation scrap seems likely.
Marco Rose - A fine coach who has had great success in Austria and Germany with RB Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig, this is an intriguing hire. Rose loves to press high and that should suit Bournemouth extremely well given the squad Andoni Iraola put together before moving to Liverpool. But there’s just something about the Cherries which tells you they are set for a bit of a slump this season. Rayan and Junior Kroupi are huge talents, while Alex Scott is attracting plenty of interest from the big boys too. But adding in European action with the Europa League, it feels like this relatively small squad won’t be able to manage the extra workload given the demands of the high-intensity playing style.
Primed for success straight away
Xabi Alonso - It’s clear Alonso is a fine manager and his 3-4-2-1 system will suit this Chelsea squad perfectly. He also has something to prove after his stint in charge of Real Madrid didn’t go well and he is no-nonsense and every Chelsea player will know exactly where they stand. Chelsea also don’t have European action to worry about this season, which is massively in Alonso’s favor as he will get extra time to work on the training ground every single week. Chelsea have so many talented individuals, most of them youngsters, and Alonso has added some much-needed experience to help them develop at a faster rate. All signs point to Chelsea being in the title race this season and they have the chance to make a fast start with a kind schedule early on.
Enzo Maresca - Following on from Pep Guardiola, basically the most successful manager in the history of the game, isn’t easy. But Maresca has the personality and focus to do it. The former Man City U23 and assistant coach knows the club well and he proved at Leicester City and Chelsea that he can work wonders with his possession-based style of play. That means his tactics won’t be that dissimilar to Guardiola’s which will suit the majority of the City squad. Maresca is also extremely strict and he will relish the opportunity to build on Guardiola’s incredible legacy and won’t be overawed by the expectations. He will demand plenty and has so much experience in this City squad who will do the same. City will be just fine with Maresca in charge.
Oliver Glasner - Okay, Nottingham Forest have gone through plenty of top managers in recent years but Glasner has the potential to change this. He doesn’t hold back in sharing his opinions, which may mean a few clashes with owner Evangelos Marinakis, but Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 system suits Forest well and he can replicate what he did at Crystal Palace. After losing key central midfielder Elliot Anderson to Man City, they have plenty of money to reinvest and they could make some big moves late in the transfer window. The fixtures have also been kind to Glasner early on, so he has the chance to hit the ground running and impress Marinakis.
Could go either way
Andoni Iraola - There’s no doubting Iraola’s quality as a manager and his high-pressing tactics worked so well at Bournemouth, and are favored by Liverpool’s fans. But this is a huge ask to turn Liverpool into title contenders again. Defensively there are massive concerns and it seems like they are being ignored and there will be a lot of 3-2 and 4-3 games this season. Iraola is meticulous and likable and he has some incredible forwards in Isak, Ekitike (when he returns) and Wirtz to work with and that quality will obviously win them plenty of games. But Liverpool are very much in transition and have lost a couple of hugely experienced players in Salah and Robertson over the summer. Iraola has been handed an easy start to the new season and if Liverpool pick up plenty of wins positive vibes will build quickly.
Gary O’Neil - A talented manager who prefers high-pressing in key areas of the pitch, O’Neil did well at Bournemouth and Wolves in the past, and at Strasbourg last season, and has come in at newly-promoted Ipswich Town after Kieran McKenna stepped down. Ipswich’s squad looks stronger than the last time they came up but it will still be really tough for them to stay up and the Tractor Boys have been handed a ridiculously tough schedule to start the season with. The same question remains as the last time they came up: how are they going to keep clean sheets? Out of the newly-promoted teams they seem the most likely to stay up given O’Neil’s pragmatism and experience in keeping Bournemouth and Wolves up.
Pierre Sage - Palace have been able to keep the majority of their squad together (Maxence Lacroix aside) over the summer, which is huge, but juggling the Europa League and Premier League is going to be a big challenge for Sage. The French manager had Lens punching above their weight in Ligue 1 as they finished second and it was a coup for Palace to hire him. Sage prefers a 3-4-2-1 system, which builds nicely on Palace’s success under Glasner. But it does feel like Palace’s squad is too small to juggle Europe again and if they don’t make the most of some advantageous fixtures early in the season, Sage could be in trouble.
