Premier League betting tips: The 2025/26 surprise package

As we look forward to the new Premier League season, Ladbrokes highlights the teams that could catch everyone's attention and become the 2025/26 surprise package.

Last season saw Nottingham Forest upset the odds and spend most of the season inside the top four, despite finishing 17th the season before, beating the likes of Liverpool and Man City on their way to Conference League qualification.

And Ladbrokes predicts there could be a similar story in the forthcoming campaign, with the likes of Everton and Crystal Palace looking primed to launch an unlikely European charge. So without further ado, let's have a look at Ladbrokes' candidates for the Premier League 2025/26 surprise package.

The first side we think could launch a surprise attack on the top four next season is Everton, with their new stadium bringing a fresh start for the Premier League ever-presents.

We have previously predicted Everton to qualify for Europe when we made one bold prediction for every Premier League side, and with their extensive list of players confirmed to be leaving the club this summer, the Everton re-brand is well and truly underway.

Since David Moyes rejoined the club in January, the Toffees have only lost four Premier League games, and haven't lost to a single team who finished outside the top six last season. Plus, as they kick-off their season against newly promoted Leeds, they have every chance to get their campaign off to the perfect start.

The 2025/26 opening day fixtures have fallen less kindly for Crystal Palace, who travel to Chelsea on Sunday 17 August, but Ladbrokes thinks the Eagles could finally escape mid-table and make a surprising push for the top four next season.

After winning the FA Cup for the first time in their history, Palace are already looking forward to their first ever Europa League campaign, but they have the quality to ensure last season's success wasn't just a flash in the pan.

Oliver Glasner's side ended the 2024/25 season unbeaten in eight in all competitions, and have lost just four games since December. If this momentum can carry through to the forthcoming season, then the Eagles have every chance of staking their claim as the 2025/26 surprise package.

A strong finish to the 2024/25 campaign saw Fabian Hurzeler's Seagulls finish as the best of the rest in eighth, just four points behind last season's surprise package Nottingham Forest - despite losing 7-0 to the Reds in February.

Not having any European football to manage alongside their Premier League games could work in Brighton's favour this season, with the lighter schedule giving them more recovery time and potentially allowing them to put real pressure on the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa and Forest.

They're tipped to make the perfect start to the season when they welcome Fulham to the AMEX, and having had a taste of Europa League football in the 2023/24 campaign, Brighton will be keen to secure another European adventure on the south coast - but could they go one better this time around and qualify for the Champions League?

Forest were undoubtedly the surprise package of the 2024/25 season, eventually being slightly disappointed with a seventh-placed finish, and Ladbrokes thinks they could be a team to watch this season - but for all the wrong reasons.

With trips around the continent now added to their calendar, Forest's squad could feel the weight of at least eight additional games, which may harm their league form. They ended last season on a poor run, and with that coupling up with all these additional games, we wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting at the bottom of the table.

Forest are priced at just 10/1 to go down at the time of writing, and while that doesn't put them among the favourites to be relegated, Nuno Espírito Santo and his team will need to be careful not to fade away too dramatically next year.

Finally, Ladbrokes predicts that Brentford could easily find themselves in a spot of bother next season, with the Bees among the pre-season favourites to face the drop down to the Championship.

Analysing their run-in, Brentford face the likes of Man United, Man City and Liverpool in what could prove to be a decisive run of fixtures to close out the season - and you fear for them heading into such a difficult run of games at such a crucial time.

Having already lost manager Thomas Frank to Spurs, Brentford are also in danger of waving goodbye to star man Bryan Mbeumo and club captain Christian Nørgaard, which could prove to be fatal as they look to extend their five-year stay in the top flight.

View the latest football odds here.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.