Most improved Premier League teams 2025: Who took the biggest leap this year?

Improvement in the Premier League isn’t always about silverware or league position alone. Sometimes it’s about identity, sometimes belief, and sometimes a club simply waking up and realising it belongs at a higher table than before.

Across the 2025 calendar year, a handful of teams didn’t just get better,they redefined themselves.

From tactical revolutions to historic breakthroughs, these are the five sides who made the biggest leap forward in the Premier League.

5 – Sunderland

Few promoted teams arrive quietly, but Sunderland arrived ready. Under Regis Le Bris, what was meant to be a survival mission quickly turned into a statement season.

Despite only spending half of 2025 in the top flight, Sunderland ended the year sitting 7th, playing fearless football and showing no trace of promotion hangover. Their home form, in particular, bordered on elite.

Key 2025 stat: Unbeaten at home in their first six Premier League months (5 wins, 3 draws).
Defining moment: A 1–0 Tyne-Wear derby win that announced Sunderland’s return with authority.

4 – Brighton & Hove Albion

Losing Roberto De Zerbi was supposed to hurt. Instead, Brighton evolved. Fabian Hurzeler didn’t replicate the past, he upgraded it.

By late 2025, Brighton improved on their results from 2024 getting 14 more points than the previous calendar year.

All that improvement without sacrificing Brighton’s iconic style. The Seagulls continued pressing higher, transitioning faster, and becoming one of the league’s most uncomfortable opponents.

Key 2025 stat: Only 12 league defeats in 51 matches under Hurzeler.
Defining moment: A tactical masterclass against the champions, Liverpool in the 2024/25 season.

3 – Everton

Everton’s leap wasn’t glamorous, but it was transformational. After years of flirting with disaster, 2025 was the year they finally found direction.

David Moyes turned Everton from relegation regulars into a stubborn, creative mid-table side. They have an exciting gem in Iliman Ndiaye, who is fast-becoming one of the most watchable players in the Premier League.

Key 2025 stat: Ranked 6th for open-play goals plus assists across the calendar year.
Defining moment: A last minute equalizer against Liverpool in the final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park.

2 – Aston Villa

Aston Villa didn’t sneak into relevance, they kicked the door down. Under Unai Emery, Villa became one of the most consistent and tactically adaptable teams in England.

Balancing Champions League football with a relentless domestic campaign, Villa finished 2025 with 76 league points, more than Liverpool across the same period.

Key 2025 stat: More points than Liverpool, the champions of the 2024/25 campaign, in 2025 calendar year.
Defining moment: An 11-match winning streak that locked Villa into the Premier League’s top three.

1 – Crystal Palace

No club improved more, or faster, than Crystal Palace. What began as a promising project under Oliver Glasner turned into the greatest year in the club’s history.

Palace didn’t just climb the table, they collected silverware, won battles against giants, and transformed Selhurst Park into one of the league’s toughest away trips.

Key 2025 stat: 59 points from 37 league games, the club’s best-ever calendar-year return.
Defining moment: Beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, then defeating Liverpool to lift the Community Shield.