The Premier League has officially returned, and with it comes the revival of The Athletic's weekly predictions competition, pitting subscribers against journalists and algorithms across the 2026-27 campaign.

Subscribers head into the new season as defending champions after topping the leaderboard last term. In a tightly contested debut run, the community held off strong competition from six-year-old Wilfred in second place, senior writer Oliver Kay in third, and a predictive algorithm that trailed in fourth.

Format Updates and Writer Rotation

This season features several key changes to the game's mechanics and lineup:

• Expanded Journalist Pool: Oliver Kay will now rotate weekly duties with colleagues Andrew Jones, Elias Burke, and Duncan Alexander.
• Simplified Prediction Model: Rather than predicting exact scorelines across all 10 fixtures, participants will now select match outcomes (Home Win, Away Win, or Draw).
• Revised Scoring: Each correct match result will earn three points, with an additional five-point bonus awarded to anyone who successfully predicts all 10 fixtures in a single gameweek.

Subscribers interested in representing the reader base during the campaign are invited to register their interest by submitting their details and club allegiance through the official entry form.