It’s time to make some soccer predictions for 2025. But like any other sport, soccer is unpredictable.
Who would’ve thought Nottingham Forest would be in the top four of the English Premier League? Remember, they were flirting with relegation last season. Also, imagine telling someone ten years ago that Atalanta would be competing for the Serie A title? Nearly ten years they finished 17th.
Better yet, it wasn’t long ago that the Canadian men’s national team reaching a World Cup and looking like the best team in CONCACAF was a pipe dream. They have a chance to win two trophies in 2025.
2024 was quite the year for footy fans. It was filled with highs, lows, big transfers, managerial sackings and upsets.
So, let’s predict what could happen in soccer in 2025, from Canada to Europe.
Of course, I don’t expect many of these soccer predictions to be right. Here are 10 soccer predictions for 2025.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have the most successful season of their MLS era…despite the noise.
Let’s start the 2025 soccer predictions with the Vancouver Whitecaps Maybe this is just me coping. Yes, the Whitecaps have not yet made a single signing this offseason. They also do not have a head coach and need new owners.
As mentioned many times on this website, the Whitecaps have a good foundation. Their three Designated Players, Ryan Gauld, Stuart Armstrong and Andres Cubas are in their prime. Striker Brian White and Ranko Veselinovic are also key pieces. However, the Whitecaps need more depth.
Sporting Director and CEO Axel Schuster stated after the MLS Superdraft on December 20 that the team will play with a back four next season and that the new head coach should be announced after his work permit is processed.
It’s early but I’ll go out on a limb and say that despite the noise with the owners, the Whitecaps will have their most successful season of the MLS era. They will finish fifth in the Western Conference and make it to the second round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
It’s hard to predict who their new ownership group will be, but I predict that their new owners will have also owned multiple other clubs around the world.
Atletico Ottawa win their first CPL title
Since the Canadian Premier League began in 2019, Forge FC has dominated.
With the exception of Pacific FC in 2021 and Cavalry FC this year, Forge has won every CPL title. They have been the first CPL dynasty and the first villains.
However, one team seems to be on the verge of winning their first CPL crown as well. That is Atletico Ottawa.
They finished third in the CPL standings and fell to Forge in the semi-finals. Atletico Ottawa is led by the likes of forward Ruben del Campo, midfielder Manny Aparicio and defender Amer Didic. (It was announced his option was picked up on Monday.)
More moves will be made and it will be interesting to see how they replace the service that Ollie Basset brought. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship.
It has also been reported from Mexico that former FC Juarez boss Diego Mejia will succeed Carlos Gonzalez as their next head coach.
Atletico Ottawa seem to have the pieces and they will look to add more. So I’ll say they win the CPL crown in 2025.
The Canadian Men’s National team win both the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League over the US.
2024 was a year that the Canadian men’s national team.
Under new head coach Jesse Marsch, Canada finished fourth at the Copa America. They are also currently ranked 31st in the FIFA rankings, the highest they have ever been.
Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius and Ismael Koné all made big moves to France’s Ligue 1. Alistair Johnston, Jacob Shaffelburg, Maxime Crépeau and Ali Ahmed took their games to the next level on the international stage.
Marsch has also helped recruit dual international Niko Sigur. He is the first of hopefully many dual nationals who choose to play for Canada.
Canada is in the best form of their program’s history. They have the most talented squad in their history too.
The Canadian men have a chance to win not just one, but two trophies next season. That is the CONCACAF Nations League and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
They will play in the Nations League semi-final on March 20 against Mexico.
I say they will ride the wave of 2024 and win both in 2025. To make things even better, both finals will be wins over the United States
Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David both move to Spain
Speaking of Canada’s men’s national team, it wouldn’t be right to not include Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David in the 2025 soccer predictions.
The two faces of the Canadian men’s team will be both out of contract at the end of the 2024-25 season. Both can sign for a new team on a free contract.
For Davies, it seems like he has been linked to Real Madrid for the last couple of years. I’ll say he finally moves there on a free in the summer. Davies has won everything at Bayern Munich and needs a new challenge. What better place to do it than at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid’s new “galatico.”
For David, he has been linked with a move away from Lille forever. He’s been linked to just about every top club in Europe. He’ll join Davies in Spain but with Real Madrid’s archrivals, Barcelona.
David currently leads Ligue 1 in goals with 11. For Barcelona, they also have the top scorer of La Liga. That is Robert Lewandowski who has 16 goals in 18 La Liga matches. The 36-year-old Polish striker is turning back the years but how long can he keep it up?
His contract is up in 2026 and Barcelona need a successor that can lead the line with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. Who better than David? Plus, given Barcelona’s financial problems, signing David on a free is a bonus.
For years, Davies and David will be facing off in El Clasico, making it a must-watch for Canadian soccer fans.
Liverpool end Man City’s reign…and win the treble
Liverpool have been flying under Arne Slot. The Dutchman replaced the beloved Jurgen Klopp at Anfield in the summer and the Reds have only lost once in all competitions. That was to Nottingham Forest in September.
Mohamed Salah just might be the best player in the world right now and is putting up historic numbers.
Virgin Van Dijk still looks like one of, if not, the best defender in the world. It also turned out Liverpool didn’t need to sign a six after all. Ryan Gravenberch is doing the job. The likes of Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo have also helped out offensively.
At the time of this writing, Liverpool is seven points clear of second place Nottingham Forest. They are also on top of the Champions League “league stage” as well. Oh yeah, they are also in the English League Cup semi-finals and will also compete for the FA Cup as well.
Slot has taken Klopp’s high-pressing system but also added his own changes by preaching transitions with more patience. It has worked extremely well and they show no sign of slowing down.
Liverpool look unbeatable at the moment. Sure, things could change between now and June but I’m going to predict they not only win the Premier League but the treble too.
Slot will have the best debut season of a manager in history.
Man City finish outside the top four and Mutally part ways with Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City have struggled this season. They have had only two wins since November 1 and currently sit sixth in the Premier League table and 14 points behind Liverpool.
Losing Ballon D’or winner Rodri is hurting them. Erling Haaland has been in his best form and neither has Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden. Sure, maybe Sunday’s 2-0 win over Leicester City could be the start of a turnaround and they could add more depth in January, but the cracks are visible.
It does seem that Man City’s reign is going to end. With Liverpool leading the way, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are among the teams fighting for Champions League spots.
Man City will fail to make the top four for the first time since the 2010-11 season. As a result, Pep Guardiola will mutually part ways with the Citizens and take a lot of time off. Eras come to an end, and 2025 will be the end of the Blue Moon era of the Premier League.
Viktor Gyökeres makes the big money move to…Arsenal
Since he signed for Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon from EFL Championship side Coventry City in 2023, Viktor Gyökeres has exploded.
The Swedish striker scored 29 goals in 33 Premeira Liga games in 2023-24 and helped Sporting win their 20th league title. This season, he hasn’t slowed down. In 16 matches, he has scored 18 goals. For the entire 2024 calendar year, he has scored an astonishing 62 goals for club and country. No one else in Europe had more.
With his finishing, pace, strength and aerial abilities, Gyökeres has wowed fans all over the world. His Bane-inspired celebration (see in the above Tweet) has become iconic. No one cared who he was before he put on the mask.
To the surprise of no one, the 26-year-old has been linked to a move away from Sporting to a bigger club, particularly clubs in England.
However, Gyökeres has a release clause of 100 million Euros. Given his form, it seems very likely that Sporting would want a club to pay that.
Clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United (where Gyökeres’ former manager Ruben Amorim is) and Arsenal have been reported to be interested in him.
Chelsea needs a striker to compete with Nicolas Jackson while Manchester United also need a true number nine. (and a whole lot of other players and a bunch of other issues) Arsenal also need a true number nine as goals have been one of the main issues that have prevented them from competing with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.
I’m predicting Arsenal sign Gyökeres in the summer and it will be the biggest transfer of 2025. Mikel Arteta will have a true striker and one that benefits from all the set-piece goals Arsenal score. Gyökeres to Arsenal might just break the British transfer record set by Enzo Fernandez’s 121 million Euro fee to Chelsea in January of 2023. If this happens, Arsenal will also break their own transfer record of 111.6 million Euros when they bought Declan Rice from West Ham in the summer of 2023.
Gyökeres seems like a good fit for Arsenal but if he signs there or elsewhere, can he thrive the same way he does now at Sporting?
We shall see what that and the rest of the soccer world has in store for 2025.
Happy New Year on behalf of everyone at the Area 51 Sports Network!
