Premier League 2026-27 Preview: Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City
This Premier League preview episode covers five promoted and established clubs: Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Manchester City. The hosts discuss each team's summer transfers, managerial changes, tactical approaches, and prospects for the 2026-27 season, with particular emphasis on how new managers and squad changes will affect performance.
Summary
The episode begins with Hull City, who won promotion through the playoffs despite a transfer embargo and financial difficulties. Taylor Rockhorse notes they massively overperformed expected points last season and conceded 66 goals, suggesting they may struggle in the Premier League. They've made 11+ signings and are attempting a Sunderland-style rebuild with young, unproven players. Manager Sergei Yakirovich shifted them to a back three in the playoffs, and the team relies heavily on effort and physicality rather than technical quality. Rockhorse predicts goalkeeper Konstantinos Solakis will get at least four yellow cards for time-wasting.
Graham Rutherford previews Ipswich Town, who won promotion under Kieran McKenna before he resigned. New manager Gary O'Neill arrives from Strasbourg. Ipswich spent roughly £120 million on players including striker Emerson (club record), and signed several defensive reinforcements. They maintain McKenna's possession-based approach with counter-pressing principles. Rutherford highlights Daizen Maeda as a pressing machine and predicts he'll finish in the top 10 for possessions won in the final third per 90 minutes.
Ryan Bailey discusses Leeds United, who finished 14th last season but made significant defensive signings including Tarek Muharremovic and goalkeeper James Trafford. Manager Daniel Farke is flexible tactically and shifted to a back three last season with good results. Bailey notes Leeds scored 16 non-penalty set piece goals last year against only 26 from open play, and predicts they'll score at least 15 set piece goals this season, putting them in the Premier League top five.
Joe Lowry covers Liverpool's dramatic summer with multiple departures including Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and Ibrahim Konate. New manager Ndoni Iriola arrives from Bournemouth with a completely different philosophy from Jurgen Klopp—his teams play chaotically and aggressively in the final third rather than controlling possession. Liverpool's squad remains thin despite signings of Jeremy Jackett, Ronald Araujo, and Victor Munoz, with ongoing pursuit of Bradley Barcola from PSG. Lowry predicts Liverpool will be top three in the Premier League for passes allowed per defensive action, reflecting Iriola's pressing approach.
Taylor Rockhorse concludes with Manchester City facing massive change after Pep Guardiola's departure. They've signed Elliot Anderson for €135 million but lost Rodri to Barcelona, John Stones and Bernardo Silva to other clubs. New manager Enzo Maresca is a Guardiola protégé who worked under him twice, but Rockhorse questions whether this is an attempt to simply replicate Pep rather than evolve the team. He predicts Maresca will have an obvious falling out with at least one player this season, but Erling Haaland will still win the Golden Boot despite potential tactical friction.
About this episode
<p>Part three of our Premier League previews is upon us! On today’s episode, we check in on Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City. How did each of those teams perform last season? What key transfers have gone down this summer? How will they play? And what might this season look like for them? All that — and more — on the show.</p><br /><p><strong>JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON!</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/totalsoccershow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check out our Patreon</a>, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, videos, The TSS Scouting Network, and much more.</p><br /><p><strong>WATCH TSS EPISODES ON YOUTUBE!</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Total-Soccer-Show" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We're posting all our episodes here</a>! Smash like and subscribe etc.!</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Key Insights
- Hull City massively overperformed expected points last season (won 19.9 more points than statistically expected), suggesting this level of overperformance may not replicate in a stronger league.
- Hull City conceded 66 goals (fourth highest in Championship) and struggle with set piece defense, conceding roughly one set piece goal every three games compared to one every six or seven for better teams.
- Ipswich Town under McKenna generated shots from 22.2% of high turnovers, more than double the Championship average, indicating their success came from aggressive counter-pressing and quick transitions.
- Leeds United scored 16 non-penalty set piece goals last season against only 26 from open play, an unusually high ratio suggesting set pieces are a key weapon for them.
- Daniel Farke shifted Leeds from a back four to back three mid-season, and their results improved significantly, suggesting tactical flexibility is important to their approach.
- Liverpool under new manager Iriola will play a chaotic, aggressive pressing style focused on regaining possession in the final third rather than Klopp's structured, possession-dominant approach.
- Iriola's Bournemouth teams won the ball more often in the final third than any team in the top four European leagues at one point, establishing his defensive intensity as a core principle.
- Manchester City lost Rodri to Barcelona after Elliot Anderson arrived for €135 million, forcing Anderson to become the main Rodri replacement rather than his heir apparent, creating significant pressure and learning curve.
- Enzo Maresca's previous teams at Leicester and Chelsea were not dramatically evolved over seasons, contrasting with Pep Guardiola's constant tactical evolution, raising questions about his ability to adapt.
- Maresca's appointment feels to observers like Manchester City attempting to replicate Pep with a visually similar manager who worked under him, rather than pursuing a genuinely different approach.
- Erling Haaland won the Golden Boot with 27 goals last season with a 9-goal gap to second place, suggesting he has significant goal-scoring dominance regardless of tactical changes or team performance.
- Liverpool's squad depth is notably thin in midfield and attack despite star power, with no obvious backup number nine and concerns about multiple players including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Ryan Gravenberch.
Topics
Transcript
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