European club football is back in action as the summer break eases. Euro 2024 saw football fans in Europe and the rest of the world display quite unexpectedly as Spain thumped bigger favorites England to win the top-tier international football tournament.
As the attention returns to club football, the biggest questions around border on potential winners of the 2024/2025 European football season with most predictions tipping the big names to go all the way across Europe. However, if there's anything the previous two seasons demonstrated, European leagues are ripe for new kings. How about you ask Napoli's die-hard fans, Bayer Leverkusen's new swaths of followers, or Atalanta's latest admirers?
As always, Europe's leading 5 leagues remain at the center of European football conversations this season, while uncertainty looms over clubs with a new Champions' League/Europa League/Conference League format. That said, here's our prediction for winners of the top 5 European football leagues - Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.
Premier League - Arsenal
Manchester City are renowned for starting their campaigns rather slowly and finishing the season strong, and have constantly dominated the league, winning four consecutive titles. Beating serial winners Manchester City to the title is not going to be a mean feat for any team - not even Arsenal who dragged them to the last matchday before calling it a day on the title chase last season.
However, Pep Guardiola has announced he may be leaving at the end of the season. Both Ederson and Kevin De Bryune - critical aspects of the squad for the last eight years are aging, and there are speculations they may leave soon. All of these create a bit of uncertainty that may deter another winning streak at the turn of the season. That leaves no stronger contender than the Gunners.
After two years of near losses, Arsenal are more experienced and could finally break their 20-year title drought. Last season saw Arsenal pick 89 points in the Premier League, their second-highest total ever, only one short of the Invincibles' 90. Meanwhile, 89 points had been enough to clinch the title in 20 of the last 31 Premier League seasons.
Mikel Arteta's squad, however, has retained the stellar team that has finished second for two consecutive years. After adding Riccardo Calafiori to the squad, the arrival of a striker to support Gabriel Jesus could give Arsenal the needed lift to clinch the title this time.
Serie A - Juventus
Inter Milan may have dazzled their way to the top of the 2023/2024 season with sheer consistency earlier epitomized by Napoli. But the Serie A title may be ready for another winner. Juventus look like the biggest contender this time, having built a forceful side capable of challenging everyone else for the title since their last domestic trophy lift in 2020.
With former Bologna boss Thiago Motta replacing Massimiliano Allegri at the helm of affairs in Turin, and the arrival of summer signings Douglas Luiz and Khéphren Thuram, Juventus has a better side than the squad that finished third last season.
Inzaghi's Inter team ran out of steam towards the end of 2023/2024 despite registering a commendable 94 points to clinch the title, a factor that Juventus can capitalize on to lift their 37th Serie A title.
La Liga - Real Madrid
Real Madrid may have cruised to league glory last season, alongside lifting the continent's most prized club trophy, but Los Blancos should brace up for more competition this time around.
Barcelona’s new manager Hansi Flick will strive to restore Barca’s league dominance. However, Los Blancos’ consistency in delivering where it matters most, alongside Kylian Mbappe’s arrival to an attack that scored 87 goals in the Spanish league last year, means Madrid can easily retain their bragging rights.
Bundesliga - Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen may have surprised everyone with its legendary 2023/2024 campaign that saw them “complete” German football unbeaten by lifting the domestic league and DFB Pokal trophies. However, Leverkusen's dream run may have at least come to a temporary end, despite having one of the best young managers in the game in Xabi Alonso.
Everyone remembers the unbeaten run, but we don't need to forget the frequent late goals that likely depicted a large dose of good fate. We may not see Leverkusen being consistently that lucky in the 2024/2025 season. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich hasn't dropped the consistent dominant form that saw it top the German league for over a decade, and many pundits believe that despite expected fierce competitions from Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund and of course, Bayer Leverkusen to make a tough three-horse race, Bayern will likely win the Bundesliga again.
Surprise new manager Vincent Kompany may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his playing style could easily fit into the Bayern culture and take the Bavarians back to the top. The Belgian’s coaching abilities shone with Burnley’s run in the Championship last season but lacked the right players to compete for the biggest prize in English’s top flight.
We can all agree this won’t be the case at Bayern as the former Man City defender will have his pick of the best talents in the world. With Harry Kane, one of England's finest players at the moment, and other world-class talents such as Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, and new signing Michael Olise in Bayern Munich's squad, The Reds should easily lift the Bundesliga title at the turn of the year - and of course, end Kane's tough luck of not winning trophies.
Ligue 1 - Paris Saint Germain
Despite losing Kykian Mbappe at the end of last season, the Paris Saint Germain team has easily established itself as a dominant side in French football, clinching eight of the past ten Ligue 1 titles.
The 2023/2024 season saw Luis Enrique's side lose only two domestic games, thanks to a side whose corporate value far outweighs that of any other French side. Luis Enrique looks poised to easily continue PSG's domestic dominance with Randal Kolo Muani replacing Mbappe and a potential purchase of Atalanta's breakout star Ademola Lookman boosting the quality in the squad.
Final Thoughts
Man City seems to be tiring out, while Arsenal seems to be maturing at the right time to lift the Premier League for the first time in over 20 years. Juventus' boosted team is tipped to edge Inter and everyone else to a 37th Serie A title, while Real Madrid's serial dominance looks set to continue in La Liga with Mbappe's arrival.
Bayern Munich should be disappointed if they don't win the Bundesliga title for a second consecutive time despite having a Kane-led world-class squad. Lastly, there's little Monaco or anyone else can do to stop PSG’s march to a 13th Ligue 1 title. While no one can be completely certain about the outcome of a football league season, we believe that save any unbelievable underdog story like that of Bayer Leverkusen last season, the teams above will be the winners of the top 5 European football leagues.