The 2026-2027 Premier League campaign has begun amid one of the biggest periods of change in the division's recent history.
For nearly a decade, the Premier League was defined by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, with Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and Arsenal under Mikel Arteta emerging as their closest challengers at different points.
Now, that hierarchy has been completely shattered. Following a historic shake-up that saw five of the traditional "big six" change managers compared to this time last year, the league has transitioned.
With Arsenal looking to cement a period of absolute dominance, the rest of the elite find themselves trying to figure out ways of returning to the top.
For the remaining five clubs, the current campaign is about proving their long-term relevance in a rapidly changing footballing landscape.
Striver.Football highlights why the remaining five members of the traditional big six have a lot to prove this season.
5. Manchester City: Can They Still Dominate Without Pep Guardiola?
For the first time in a decade, the Etihad Stadium dugout looks unfamiliar. Guardiola is gone, having departed the club over the summer and taken an immense, trophy-laden era of dominance with him.
Under Guardiola, City were a dominant title-winning machine. Now, the Citizens have already begun life with not just a new manager in Enzo Maresca, but also a new leadership core within the dressing room.
The departures of key figures such as Rodri and Bernardo Silva have created major leadership and tactical questions at the heart of the team.
Maresca must prove that the club's success was built on a repeatable blueprint rather than the singular genius of Guardiola.
4. Manchester United: Can Michael Carrick Turn Progress Into Success?
After securing a respectable third-place finish in the 2025-2026 season, Manchester United entered the new campaign with Michael Carrick permanently in charge.
For over a decade, United have tried and failed to replicate the sustained elite status of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, often trapped in a cycle of short-lived resets and false dawns.
Carrick has to prove that his coaching vision can finally turn Manchester United into genuine, ruthless title contenders rather than comfortable top-four placeholders.
The club’s hierarchy has invested heavily in creating a squad capable of playing modern, possession-heavy football.
The urgency of this mission was laid bare on the opening weekend, where a jarring 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Hull City immediately increased the pressure on Carrick.
The pressure is immediately mounting on Carrick to prove that last year's progress under his time in charge on an interim basis was not a fluke.
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3. Chelsea: Can Xabi Alonso Finally Bring Stability?
Chelsea’s erratic trajectory under its current ownership took another dramatic turn after a highly disappointing 10th-place finish in 2025-2026.
Desperate for a clear tactical identity, the club pulled off a major coup by installing Xabi Alonso in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
The mandate for Alonso is clear, but incredibly daunting. After spending hundreds of millions of pounds more in the recent transfer window, headlined by the staggering £117 million addition of Morgan Rogers, the Chelsea hierarchy has to prove that their aggressive transfer strategy can actually yield a cohesive team.
Alonso must quickly create clarity within a large squad and turn Chelsea's investment into consistent results.
2. Liverpool: Can They Replace Mohamed Salah's Influence?
The post-Jurgen Klopp transition at Anfield took a sharp detour over the summer. The brief Arne Slot experiment has concluded, and Liverpool enter the 2026-27 season under new manager Andoni Iraola.
However, the biggest story on Merseyside is not who is in the dugout, but who left the pitch. The iconic Mohamed Salah departed the club on a free transfer, officially ending one of the most prolific individual eras in modern Premier League history.
Liverpool must now prove they can score, create and win without relying on Salah to carry their attack. The club is still feeling the effects of a messy 2025 summer transfer window and a disappointing fifth-place finish last term.
The current squad has plenty of technical ability, but it lacks a proven, talismanic match-winner capable of breaking deadlocks on difficult away days.
Liverpool have to prove they can quickly evolve into a modern, collective attacking force rather than slipping permanently behind a rampant Arsenal.
1. Tottenham Hotspur: Can They Recover From Another Relegation Scare?
No major Premier League club enters the season carrying more baggage from recent campaigns than Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs suffered an absolute nightmare campaign last year, collapsing to a shocking 17th-place finish for the second season in a row and barely dodging a catastrophic relegation to the Championship.
Led by Roberto De Zerbi, the club responded to the scare the club responded to the scare by sanctioning major spending on highly rated players like Jan Paul van Hecke, Matheus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
De Zerbi has the tactical acumen to steady the ship, but an opening weekend 3-0 loss to Brentford indicates that the ghost of last season still lingers.
Spurs must quickly prove that last season's collapse was an aberration and move back towards the European places, or risk another damaging period of supporter unrest.
