Every team in the Premier League has now played two matches, and storylines for the 2025/26 season are beginning to take shape. It’s impossible to say with any definitive certainty what the coming season will bring us, though a few general statements – such as Liverpool are very good and West Ham are not very good – can be made.
So far, there haven’t been any major surprises. Most of the teams that we thought would struggle have indeed looked the part, with West Ham recently getting absolutely rinsed by Chelsea 5-1 in a bit of a Graham Potter revenge game for the Blues.
On the other side, which teams will end the 2025/26 Premier League season in a better spot than they did last season? Let’s take a look at three English clubs that either through two games or on paper look like they will be an improved package this year.
Everton
At times, Everton were spellbinding on the counter against Brighton, who are one of the clubs in contention for European football this season and are seen by many as a potential surprise package in England.
Everton made them look quite average, as wingers Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish looked as advertised as a pairing, running rampant through a Brighton defense that received a promising injection of talent in the summer transfer window.
The Toffees, of course, made as significant upgrades as any Premier League team this summer in comparison to their budget and expectations, and after finishing 13th in the league last season due to a surge later in the season, Everton do look like a truly improved unit under long-time Premier League manager David Moyes.
Grealish, in particular, gives the Toffees a jolt of hope. His departure from Manchester City back to a mid-table club hearkens to his days with Aston Villa, where he was legitimately the most exciting player in the Premier League, taking on all comers.
We saw glimpses of that on Sunday in the 2-0 win over the Seagulls, as Grealish grabbed two assists in his first start as an Evertonian, providing width on the counter while Ndiaye danced through the heart of the defense in concert.
If new striker Theirno Barry can get going and young phenom Jarrad Branthwaite can stay health and bounce back this season, Everton could have a strong nucleus and the right ingredients to get back in the top half of the league table – a place where they historically belong.
Tottenham
No team has improved more than Tottenham Hotspur, and that’s even after their incredibly disappointing news on the playmaker front. Spurs were already after a No. 10 before James Maddison’s torn ACL and thought they had a deal in place with Nottingham Forest for Morgan Gibbs-White, but that famously fell through.
Then they circled back to local London star Eberechi Eze, only to watch the Crystal Palace FA Cup hero spurn them for a move to North London rivals Arsenal, fulfilling a childhood dream that didn’t pan out.
Yet even without a playmaker ruling the roost, Tottenham have started the 2025/26 season as the Premier League’s most impressive team. After laying the smackdown on newcomers Burnley in a 3-0 drubbing that was never really a contest, Spurs enjoyed another clean sheet win at their personal playground, the Etihad, sending Pep Guardiola into another tailspin.
If Tottenham can land two more legitimate attacking difference-makers alongside former West Ham standout Mohammed Kudus before Sept. 1 strikes, then we could be talking about Thomas Frank’s outfit as a legitimate Premier League title darkhorse – and one with more staying power than their initial tease under Ange Postecoglou at the start of the 2023/24 season.
After finishing 17th in the Premier League last season, the reigning Europa League winners look far more confident, competent, and organized as a unit under Frank, particularly in midfield with Frank already unlocking the young Pape Sarr with veteran Premier League No. 6 Joao Palhinha paying immediate dividends.
Chelsea
Chelsea managed to nestle into a comfortable fourth last season, securing Champions League football and finishing just two points behind Manchester City and five behind Arsenal with a strong performance in the second half of the season as the high-priced midfield pivot of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo finally began to click.
Well, the Chelsea midfield only got deeper this summer with Dario Essugo and Andrey Santos officially joining, and even the attacking midfield is about to get better, too, with Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho still potentially on the way to link up with Ballon d’Or candidate Cole Palmer.
The Blues upgraded significantly in all three positions of their forward line, and although it was just West Ham, the performances from Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian in that game – and throughout the Club World Cup, including Willian’s for previous employers Palmeiras – are clear indicators of the impact these two can have on the Chelsea attack.
Chelsea quietly made all the right moves this summer, and after already improving arguably more than any other club in the 2024/25 season, Todd Boehly’s men are ready to emerge as true Premier League title contenders and even Champions League darkhorses in the 2025/26 campaign.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.