Overview
Twenty clubs, 380 matches, promotion and relegation — the most watched domestic league in the world.
The Premier League is the top division of English football and the most widely broadcast domestic league in any sport. Twenty clubs play each other home and away over 38 matches from August to May; three points for a win, one for a draw, and the club with the most points is champion — there is no playoff.
The bottom three are relegated to the Championship and replaced by three promoted clubs. The top places carry qualification for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, which is worth enough that the race for them shapes most seasons as much as the title itself.
2026-27 Table
Table order as published in the feed (points, then the competition's tiebreakers). 20 teams. Captured 6 October 2026 from the ESPN public standings feed.
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 15 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 12 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 10 |
| 4 | Brentford | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 9 |
| 5 | Leeds United | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 |
| 7 | Everton | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 |
| 8 | Hull City | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
| 11 | Ipswich Town | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 6 |
| 12 | Manchester United | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Nottingham Forest | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 5 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 4 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 4 |
| 17 | AFC Bournemouth | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 3 |
| 18 | Coventry City | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | -9 | 3 |
| 19 | Fulham | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 2 |
| 20 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 2 |
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
English league football dates to 1888. The Premier League broke away from the Football League in 1992 so its clubs could negotiate television rights independently — a decision that transformed the sport's finances and, within a decade, made English clubs the wealthiest in Europe.
Manchester United won thirteen of the first twenty-one titles under Alex Ferguson. Since then the money has spread: Chelsea, Manchester City, Leicester City in 2016 at 5,000–1, and Liverpool have all won it, and City took four in a row from 2021.
Arsenal's 2025–26 title, their first since the Invincibles of 2004, ended a 22-year wait. Wolves, Burnley and West Ham were relegated — West Ham on 39 points, the highest relegation total since 2011.
Governance
The Premier League is a company owned by its twenty member clubs, each with one vote; changes to the rules require fourteen. It sits under the Football Association, UEFA and FIFA. An independent football regulator for English football was established by legislation in 2025.