Revisiting Our 2025/26 Season Preview Picks: The Good, the Bad, the Inbetween

With the 2025/26 season finished, we wanted to take a look back at our picks for the campaign to see how we fared. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but do our BettingLounge experts have much foresight?

Ben's Premier League Picks

So, we start with the Premier League, and let's look at Ben's predictions for the 2025/26 season.

• Liverpool (9/5) ❌ or Manchester City (6/4) ❌ to Win the Premier League
• Chelsea (4/6) ❌ and Arsenal (1/5) ✅ to finish Top 4
• Manchester United (5/4) ✅ and Tottenham Hotspur (13/8) ❌ to finish Top 6
• Burnley (2/5) ✅, Leeds United (11/8) ❌ and Wolves (7/2) ✅ to get Relegated
• Erling Haaland (11/8) ✅ to be Top Goalscorer
• Value Bets: Burnley to be Bottom on Christmas Day (9/4) ❌ and Two Promoted Teams to be Relegated (10/11) ❌

Correct Picks: 5/12

It was not the best year for Ben in the Premier League, with him only getting one winner in the top four. However, we did get second place and at one stage it looked like City might win the league.

The relegation picks were pretty nice, as was picking out Manchester United above Evens for a top six place. That said, there was not too much value to be found.

Ben's Championship Picks

Now we move on to the Championship, and it certainly wasn't his best set of picks, it must be said.

• Ipswich Town (3/1) ❌ or Southampton (11/2) ❌ to Win the Championship
• Birmingham City (21/10) ❌, Sheffield United (9/4) ❌, Coventry City (9/2) ✅ or Norwich City (6/1) ❌ to be Promoted
• Sheffield Wednesday (4/11) ✅, Hull City (3/1) ❌ and Preston North End (7/2) ❌ to get Relegated
• Sammie Szmodics E/W (14/1) ❌, Mihailo Ivanovic E/W (22/1) ❌ or Josh Sargent E/W (17/1) ❌ to be Top Goalscorer
• Value Bets: Sheffield United to be Top Yorkshire Club (6/5) ❌ and Sheffield Wednesday to Finish Bottom (3/4) ✅

Correct Picks: 3/14

In the Championship, it is fair to say that Ben didn't fare too well. However, he did have numerous tips that came close. Ipswich Town were promoted but not as title winners, so that's a loser, for example.

Saying that, the pick for Hull City to go down looks really bad in hindsight. He's happy to accept he was wrong there!

Ben's League One Picks

Sticking in England, we're moving to League One, and this was certainly a little more successful for Ben.

• Luton Town (7/1) ❌ or Huddersfield Town (15/2) ❌ to Win League One
• Cardiff City (51/20) ✅, Stockport County (4/1) ❌, Bolton Wanderers (4/1) ✅ or Blackpool (4/1) ❌ to be Promoted
• Bradford City (9/2) ❌, Rotherham United (6/1) ✅, Northampton Town (11/8) ✅ and Mansfield (11/4) ❌ to get Relegated
• Joe Taylor E/W (40/1) ❌ to be Top Goalscorer
• Value Bets: Huddersfield Town to be Top Yorkshire Club (8/11) ❌ and Stockport County to be Top North West Club (5/2) ✅

Correct Picks: 5/13

League One was a little better for us, as we landed a guaranteed two promotion tips in the final with Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers getting there. However, the title shouts were not great...

Bradford City to go down was an oversight, but picking out Rotherham to go down at 6/1 was a great pick, we must say. Joe Taylor's season was not great for the most part, but he did come close to an Each-Way place. That'd have been a nice return!

Ben's League Two Picks

Finally, we're going to League Two, where he certainly struggled a little bit, it must be said...

• MK Dons (10/3) ❌ or Chesterfield (7/1) ❌ to Win League Two
• Bristol Rovers (10/3) ❌, Grimsby Town (6/1) ❌, Colchester United (5/1) ❌, Fleetwood (8/1) ❌ or Gilligham (10/3) ❌ to be Promoted
• Harrogate (10/3) ✅ and Accrington Stanley (4/1) ❌ to get Relegated
• Aaron Collins (11/2) ❌ to be Top Goalscorer
• Value Bets: Salford City to be Top North West Club (5/2) ✅ and Chesterfield to be Top Midlands Club (11/8) ❌

Correct Picks: 2/12

Our worst tips of the lot came in League Two, where we were pretty off the mark with a lot of our tips. A poor year here; there can be no denying that, unfortunately.

Ben's Scottish Premiership Picks

Sticking in England, we're moving to the Scottish Premiership, where Ben certainly performed rather well.

• Celtic (2/5) ✅ to Win the Premiership
• Hearts (1/5) ✅, Aberdeen (2/5) ❌, Hibernian (2/7) ✅ and Dundee United (6/4) ❌ to Finish Top Six
• Livingston ✅ and Falkirk ❌ to get Relegated
• Lawrence Shankland (5/1) ❌ to be Top Goalscorer
• Hearts to Win the League W/O Celtic and Rangers - 11/8 ✅

Correct Picks: 5/9

There was money to be made in Scotland and with Paddy Power paying out early on Celtic to win the League, we were off to a flying start. Hearts winning the league without the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers was also a very nice shout.

Lawrence Shankland came close with the Golden Boot, too, which would've also delivered some nice returns. No complaints here! A return rate of over 50%, even if the odds were poor.

Ben's La Liga Picks

Moving into Europe, we have Ben's picks for the Spanish top flight, and he certainly had a solid run of picks.

• Barcelona (9/5) ✅ or Real Madrid (7/2) ❌ to Win La Liga
• Atletico Madrid (1/5) ✅ and Athletic Bilbao (4/6) ❌ to finish Top 4
• Real Oviedo (17/20) ✅, Espanyol (2/1) ❌ and Levante (7/5) ❌ to get Relegated
• Kylian Mbappe (4/5) ✅ to be Top Goalscorer

Correct Picks: 4/8

La Liga is always a nice league to look at and Ben enjoyed himself here, landing four of his eight tips. He was confident in Barcelona's chances - putting them first in his 1-20 - and they duly delivered.

Another league at a 50% success rate.

Ben's Serie A Picks

Moving to Italy next, we have Ben's picks for the Serie A season, and there were a few almosts for him.

• Napoli (15/8) ❌ or AC Milan E/W (11/2) ❌ to win Serie A
• AC Milan (4/9) ❌, Inter (1/3) ✅ and Roma (6/4) ✅ to finish Top 4
• Cremonese (10/3) ✅, Pisa (10/11) ✅ and Lecce (6/5) ❌ to get relegated
• Moise Kean (11/2) ❌ or Rafael Leao E/W (40/1) ❌ to be Top Goalscorer

Correct Picks: 4/10

Having worked in Italian football for a few years now, this was Ben's chance to earn some big returns and he was certainly close to a few nice wins. Napoli came second in the league and at one stage, it seemed Milan were even strong in the race.

Rafael Leao also started the season strongly, so that 40/1 E/W bet could've been lovely. 4/10 isn't the best of our tips, though, even if we did get 2/3 relegation teams correct.

Ben's Bundesliga Picks

Next, we head to Germany, where we look at the Bundesliga and what a run Ben had here!

• Bayern Munich (1/3) ✅ to Win the Bundesliga
• RB Leipzig (10/11) ✅, Borussia Dortmund (2/7) ✅ or Bayer Leverkusen (1/5) ❌ to finish Top 4
• St Pauli (8/11) ✅ and Heidenheim (6/4) ✅ to be Relegated
• Harry Kane (8/11) ✅ to be Top Scorer

Correct Picks: 6/7

Ben was on fire in the Bundesliga and whilst most of his returns were under the Evens mark, you've got to be in it to win it. Six winners from seven picks is superb and getting both of the bottom two is fantastic.

If only every league was like this!

Ben's Ligue 1 Picks

On our final stop in Europe, we head to France, where Ben made his picks for the Ligue 1 season.

• PSG (1/8) ✅ to Win Ligue 1
• Monaco (1/5) ❌ and Lille (4/6) ✅ to finish Top 3
• Metz (1/1) ✅, Lorient (9/4) ❌ and Le Havre (6/5) ❌ to be Relegated
• Ousmane Dembele (11/4) ❌ to be Top Scorer

Correct Picks: 3/7

Ligue 1, much like the Bundesliga, can be really easy sometimes and Ben was close to getting some nice winners. However, we'll take the 3/7 with there being no real high or low-lights.

Ben's Champions League Picks

Next, we've got the Champions League, where the format strayed a little bit, as you'd expect.

• PSG (13/2) ✅ or Manchester City (11/1) ❌ to Win the Champions League
• Spurs (9/4) ✅, Juventus (3/1) ❌ and Monaco (7/1) ❌ to finish Top 8
• Erling Haaland (11/2) ❌, Joao Pedro E/W (25/1) ❌, Viktor Gyokeres E/W (15/1) ❌ or Jonathan David (66/1) ❌ to be Top Scorer

Correct Picks: 2/9

The Top Scorer section is not the greatest read, but there was certainly a reason to hope with them. Arsenal reached the final, but Gyokeres only scored five. Then, other reasons made sense, but they did not come to fruition.

Nevertheless, we cannot overlook picking the winner of the competition. Back-to-back wins for PSG delivered a 13/2 winner.

Ben's Europa League Picks

Sticking with a similar format, we've got the Europa League next - albeit with the omission of top scorer bets, given there were no markets at the time of writing.

• Aston Villa (13/2) ✅ or Bologna (12/1) ❌ to Win the Europa League
• Lyon (1/1) ✅, Celtic (14/5) ❌ and Midtjylland (9/1) ✅ to finish Top 8
• Lyon to Top the League Phase - 14/1 ✅

Correct Picks: 4/6

This is arguably Ben's best performance of the entire season. Not only has he managed to get the winner again, at 13/2, but he's delivered two tips at higher prices.

Midtjylland at 9/1 was a great find, with his research proving to be spot on here, then the same with Lyon finishing top of the League Phase at 14/1. That certainly delivered a bit of profit for us!

Ben's Conference League Picks

If the markets were limited in the Europa League, they were even more limited in the Conference League. So, we could only put forward selections from the Winner markets.

• Crystal Palace (5/1) ✅, RC Strasbourg (7/1) ❌ or AZ Alkmaar (12/1) ❌ to Win the Conference League

Correct Picks: 1/3

All things considered, 1/3 here was not terrible, with Crystal Palace winning the competition. Strasbourg got to a semi-final, so we were almost guaranteed a winner either way.

Either way, we still got the winner. No complaints here!

Ben's World Cup Picks

Finally, with the World Cup coming before we look at next season's tips, we wanted to include the performance of our tips in the tournament.

• Spain (5/1) ✅ or Morocco (66/1) ❌ to Win the World Cup
• Lionel Messi E/W (14/1) ✅ or Ismael Saibari E/W (300/1) ❌ to Win the Golden Boot
• England to reach Quarter Finals ✅, Over 9.5 Goals Scored ✅ and Harry Kane Top Scorer - 2.74/1
• Value Picks: Qatar Lowest Scorers E/W (10/1) ❌, Belgium Highest Scorers E/W (14/1) ❌ and Group D Highest Scoring Group (25/1) ❌
• Fun Picks: Japan and Morocco Top Continent Teams (7.74/1) ✅, Last 16 Bet (18/1) ❌, Top Team Scorer Bet (150/1) ❌

Correct Picks: 3/11

Another winner of a tournament picked out. Maybe we should just stick to that moving forward. Is anyone interested in the winner of the Carabao Cup? Spain at 5/1 was the pick.

They were the bookies' favourites, but we can make no complaints here. Then the Messi shout for the Golden Boot looked fantastic for most of the tournament, but Kylian Mbappe snatched it at the end.

Even the Saibari pick looked nice for a while, with him racking up goals early on.

Our England bet fell at the last hurdle, with Jude Bellingham's tournament taking the Top Scorer spot from Harry Kane - as Englishmen we're not complaining, though (!).

The value bets were certainly tough. Qatar shocked everyone by grabbing two goals - more than enough for them not to be the lowest scorers - and Group D was a bit of a boring group for goals.

Nevertheless, Belgium's route, as predicted, took them close to being Top Scorers at the tournament. However, they were also affected by France and England's third-place game.

For our fun picks, Japan and Morocco were both the furthest progressing teams from their continent - albeit with dead heat rules - and that was our only success there.

A solid tournament, though, we must say.