John Terry has predicted Chelsea will be top of the Premier League table after the opening five rounds of the 2025/26 season, while still declaring Arsenal as the 'big favourites' to retain the title.
The Blues finished 10th last season, a campaign that saw both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior lose their jobs. Now under Xabi Alonso, with notable signings like Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix and no European football, some have tipped Chelsea as unlikely title winners.
Terry's early-season forecast
Alonso has been handed a favourable set of fixtures to begin his Chelsea career, starting with a trip to local rivals Fulham on Monday night. The Blues are not set to play outside London until mid-October.
Terry has predicted wins against Fulham, Brighton, Hull City and Brentford, plus a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal on September 6, leaving Alonso's side top of the table after five games.
Momentum and confidence
'For him [Alonso], you really want to get off to a winning start, so you want to win your first game, you can get momentum from that,' the former Chelsea and England captain said on TikTok.
'I remember years ago when Jose Mourinho came back, Burnley away we went 1-0 down after 20 odd minutes, came back to win the game with an unbelievable touch and finish and pass from Cesc Fabregas to Andre Schurrle.'
'Just from that moment you could just feel something was happening. So as players, you have to be very confident but also you feel the momentum, you can feel things are right.'
Predicted first five results
Terry's predictions for Chelsea's opening five Premier League games are:
- Fulham 1-2 Chelsea
- Chelsea 2-0 Brighton
- Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
- Chelsea 2-0 Hull
- Brentford 2-1 Chelsea
'If they are right off the pitch and around the place, which they are because I've been around it myself – you can see and feel it – and we have bigger and better players coming back from the World Cup that haven't even met up with the first-team yet,' Terry added.
'I think you can only be excited. So I think for him, looking at these first five games, I would be expecting three to four wins and maybe a couple of draws. Off to a great start and Chelsea sitting top of the league after five games is my prediction.'
