Why Crystal Palace could have a big year, and surprises teams from the rest of Europe's top five leagues

The 2025-26 European soccer season is about to start and while the top teams are making their summer moves to improve their squads as they compete for league titles, there are other sides that for different reasons might surprise. There are infinite examples in the past years that showed like some clubs were able to work to create something unexpected and important for their club's history, starting from the 2015-16 Premier League season when Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City came out of absolutely nowhere to win the title in what was probably the greatest surprise in the history of the sport. But while they might be the most dramatic, they weren't the only ones. We can also look at accomplishments like Girona's Champions League qualification in 2023 or Borussia Dortmund's Champions League final run in 2023-24 when they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley. Let's go around Europe to predict who can potentially become the surprise of the season in each of the top five leagues.

Watch out for Como this season in the Italian Serie A. The side coached by Cesc Fabregas invested over $100 million this summer to improve their roster and were able to keep the manager after one strong season in Italy's top tier. The pressure is already on them, considering the ownership's ambition to become one of the big teams around Italy and this season they will try to qualify for the European tournaments. It won't be surprising if they ended up in the top ten of the standings, but qualifying for an international competition would definitely be a big step for their project as they build for the future.

Serie A 2025-26 Power Rankings: Napoli to win again, AC Milan return to the Champions League, Como to surprise

It's difficult to describe what would make OM's season a surprising one when looking at the 2024-25 season where Roberto De Zerbi's side ended up in second place 19 points behind PSG and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. However, playing in the same league with the Champions League title holders it's a big task for the Italian manager, who will try to challenge Les Parisiens this season in the domestic league. After some disappointing years it finally looks like OM are back on track and can at least fight to win a trophy under De Zerbi.

The English side come from a strong start of their cycle with Oliver Glasner who was able to win the FA Cup last season against Manchester City, a historic moment for the club. However, while the fans are waiting to hear what European tournament they will play in the 2025-26 season, the upcoming season has to be a key one of the team that want to consolidate their status especially in the Premier League and so far they were also able to keep more or less the same roster of the past successful season, hoping to create a successful spell.

This is an interesting side to watch this season. Mallorca FC have started to build something important over the years thanks to a new project under Robert Sarver's ownership that want to make Mallorca's soccer team an attraction for the million of tourists coming to the Spanish island every year. Over the last four years they also reached a Copa del Rey final and only lost on penalties against Athletic Club in 2023 and last season they ended up in 10th place under Jagoba Arrasate's management. The feeling is that they can even improve next year.

The German team ended up in third place last season and qualified for the 2025-26 edition of the UEFA Champions League under the management of Dino Toppmoller and will try to achieve even more this year despite the exit of striker Hugo Ekitike who joined Liverpool this summer for a record fee of $95 million. Eintracht is a team to watch especially because all eyes will be on Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and after last season's surprise they will face a different level of pressure as they aspire to stay at the top spots of the German league.