During the last two Premier League seasons all of the teams promoted from the EFL championship, which is England’s second division, have been relegated back to the championship the exact same season. Including Southampton last season who got just 12 points which is the second lowest points tally in Premier League history, but that will likely change this season. This is due to multiple reasons such as the great quality of the teams coming up and the teams already in the Premier League that have lost quality players.
Explanation of How it All Works:
The Premier League is the highest division of soccer/football in England and is widely considered the best in the whole world.
The way the league is set up is that there are 20 teams and the teams at the top get to compete in European Competitions while the bottom 3 get relegated to the lower division which is the English championship. This is based on a point system where a loss=0 points a draw =1 point and a win=3 points. Additionally after every season the 3 teams that get relegated get replaced with the three best teams in the championship.
Here is every team to likely be in the relegation battle and if they will survive the drop or not:
Brentford
Ever since they have been promoted to the Premier League in the 21/22 season Brentford have always been and underrated team capable of upsets. In the season where they just got promoted they managed to get 13th in the Premier League which included beating teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea. Additionally in the 22/23 they managed to get 9th in the league while beating Man United, Man City,and Liverpool. Additionally their striker Ivan Tony scored 20 goals in the league, finishing 3rd in the golden boot. And in the the 24/25 season they did well again with their two strikers Bryan Mbuemo and Yoanne Wissa finishing 5th and 6th in the golden boot race.
But all good things come to an end as both players as well as their manager Thomas Frank left the club. This left them in a dire spot with them replacing him with their set piece coach which left fans furious. With more players such as Christian Norgaard leaving, things don’t seem great for them. They are also currently in 13th place even with new signings such as former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson this season they have been inconsistent where they have played terribly some games but amazing in others. It will be interesting to see because of how long their former manager was at the team. This will be a huge tactical change for many of the players so we will see if they overcome the hardships they face.
Though they have pulled off results against teams like Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Man United, we will see if they manage to pull through.
Everton
Everton are a historic team that hasn’t been relegated since 1951. Though they have struggled recently they have always managed to pull it off no matter what challenges they face. They have been floating around the middle and bottom of the Premier League table for the last couple of years but that doesn’t mean they don’t have great players. Jordan Pickford has been an amazing goal keeper for them including saving a penalty against Leicester that prevented them from getting relegated in the 22/23 season. They also have great center backs like Jarrad Branthwaite who has been wanted by Man United. But this season they have made some Amazing signings such as Man City winger Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall, and Thierno Barry. Jack Grealish is currently top of the Premier League assist charts being a huge reason why they are currently 9th in the Premier League.
Their manager David Moyes has helped turn them in a completely different direction from the last couple of years where they haven’t done well. His very attacking focused and free roaming style of play has really managed to get the best out of his players. I think that they truly have a chance of doing well this season and they already have played greater than many expected this season. So far they have played well, but somewhat inconsistent, depending on the game. I still believe that they will not be relegated though.
Sunderland
This is one of the biggest stories coming into this season. Sunderland used to be a regular Premier League club having great players such as Kevin Phillips and Jermain Defoe. But they got relegated with 24 points in the 2016/2017 season the season after they got relegated from the championship to league 1 which is the third tier. But after 4 years in league one, they got promoted to the championship and 2 years later they reached the Premier League through the playoffs.
Their 27 year old owner based their transfer business on the movie “Moneyball” which involved buying undervalued players and that has continued this season where they have bought great young player such as Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, and Mark Guiu. They’ve also brought older proven players such as former Atletico Madrid player Renaldo, Arthur Masuaku, and best of all former Arsenal captain and Bundesliga winner Granit Xhaka. These and some other great transfers have Sunderland a very strong squad and they proved that by beating West Ham United 3 to 0 in the opening Premier game where some of their new signings showed their talent. Though they lost to another recently promoted team, Burnley, on the second match day. After that they have not lost a game since with them currently being 5th in the league; they are looking amazing. There are still many games left in the season for them to stay up and possibly challenge for a European competition, which I think they will.
Leeds
Leeds United are like Sunderland where they did amazing before the Premier League was created but dropped off after, even so they have been consistent for the most part and have stayed in the league most years, but they finished 19th in the 2022/2023 season and spent two years in the championship before getting promoted last season.
They have had one of the most interesting transfer windows of any team in the league because out of the 10 players they have bought this transfer season 8 of them are over 6 feet tall with the two others being 5 feet 11 inches. They have likely done this because of how physically competitive the Premier League is and having a bunch of giants will help them do really well in that area. Some of the best players they have gotten are 6 feet 4 inches tall Anton Stach, 6 feet 5 inches tall Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille, former Everton striker Calvert Lewin, and 6 feet 3 inches tall Jaka Bjol.
They started the season with a great defensive display and a 1 to 0 win against Everton. But they then lost 5 to 0 against top of the league Arsenal. They are currently 12th though after recent performances so it seems like their strategy could be working. It’s mainly just a question if they will manage to use their physicality and form so far to survive the drop.
Wolves
Wolves has been in the Premier League since the 2018/2019 season where in their first premier season they finished in 7th place. They are well known for the amount of Portuguese players they have bought over the years including Diogo Jota who recently passed away. They later got 7th again the next season and looked to be a regular top half team. But since then they have dropped further and further down the table finishing 16th this last season. To make it even worse the lost their star players Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait Nouri to Man united and Man city.
With all this bad news in mind they have made notable signings such as the top scorer of the Belgian division A, Tolu Arokodare and the shining star of the Club World Cup Jhon Arias. With these exciting new signings many thought they would do a lot better than they actually have done. They are currently last in the Premier League having dropped off a lot since their prime in the early 2020s. They currently have only one point after a good performance recently against Tottenham. Even with recent hope, they have been terrible so far, so it’s a huge possibility that Wolves could even get relegated this season.
Burnley
Burnley could continue their streak as one of the premier leagues biggest competitors especially against bigger teams.
Burnley was a solid mid table in the late 2010s including getting 7th place in the 2017/2018 season. Are now a team that is consistently getting relegated and promoted back to the Premier League. Last season they barely lost the championship title the Leeds but they look to be on the rise with 13 signings last summer. These include former Tottenham player Marcus Edwards, treble winning Kyle Walker, and former Benfica player Florentino. They additionally have a massive squad of 35 players.
People are asking if this is a strategy to combat the massive injury crisis in the Premier League recently with more and more players getting bad injuries. This has derailed whole seasons including Tottenham’s title race in the 23/24 which was ruined by long lasting injuries to their star players. So far, they are 18th in the league having lost 5 games, drawing one, and winning one. They had good performances against Sunderland and against Man United. In the Man United game, they only lost because of a late penalty but challenged Man United into almost drawing. So, it is still kind of in the air because of how inconsistent they can be depending on the game. Though they are currently in the relegation zone we will see if they pull off enough upsets to stay up.
Besides the teams listed, there are some quick mentions I want to make:
First is West Ham United, who have gone in a downward spiral recently after winning the conference league in the 22/23 season with them currently being 19th in the league with 4 points many of this due to poor management and tactics by their previous managers. Additionally, Manchester United is continuing their downward spiral just like they did last season because of poor management and the general atmosphere of the team. As well as Aston Villa who has also not been great this season, with them currently being in 16th with 6 points. With all of these stories of huge teams in downward spirals, promoted teams doing ridiculously well, and many clubs that are now going on a whole new path without their star players, the Premier League this season, especially the relegation battle, will be so interesting to watch.
You can keep up with the games on the Premier League app and website.