Sport
The relegation scrap is shaping up to be the most dramatic part of the 25/26 Premier League season
At the same point of last season, the three promoted teams (Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton) in the Premier League had taken just six points. This season, that tally for Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland stands at 23 points with the latter sitting inside the top five in the table.
After two seasons of abject failure by the teams that came up to the Premier League from the Championship, it’s clear this season’s promoted sides are much more competitive which in turn will make the relegation scrap interesting. In fact, it could make it the most fascinating thing about the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
Sunderland are flying high. The Black Cats have claimed wins over West Ham, Brentford and Nottingham Forest with Saturday’s away win at the City Ground possibly their best result and performance of the season. Regis Le Bris has forged a team that is more than capable of staying up.
The same could be said of Daniel Farke’s Leeds who have claimed impressive results against Everton, Newcastle, Wolves and Bournemouth. While the Elland Road outfit might not have recruited to the same extent as Sunderland, they have been pragmatic in the way they have assembled a squad good enough to compete in the Premier League.
There are more question marks over Burnley with Scott Parker’s team currently sitting in the bottom three, but compared to other Burnley sides that have recently floundered in the top flight the Clarets at least have a fighting chance of staying up this season. By and large, they have been difficult to break down in matches.
It’s not just that this season’s three promoted teams look better, it’s that some other teams around them are in trouble. Wolves, chiefly, are facing a series of issues that will surely see them fighting the drop with Vitor Pereira struggling to find solutions following the sale of Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri in the summer.
West Ham have their own problems. They collected just three points from their opening five league games, a run of form that cost Graham Potter his job. Nuno Espirito Santo claimed a respectable 1-1 draw away to Everton in his first game as the Hammers’ new manager, but there’s still a lot of work ahead of the former Nottingham Forest boss.
Speaking of Forest, their poor start under Ange Postecoglou is something worth monitoring in relation to this season’s relegation fight. The City Ground outfit are just one point above the bottom three and are still waiting for the first win under Postecoglou whose style of play is already testing his squad.
Some others could be sucked into relegation danger near the foot of the table. Aston Villa’s dreadful start to the campaign raised questions over their current direction under an increasingly exasperated Unai Emery, although Sunday’s home win over Fulham eased some of those concerns. They are finally looking upwards.
Manchester United certainly have plenty of concerns right now. It might seem farfetched to consider the Old Trafford club at risk of relegation, but United’s record under Ruben Amorim is the worst of any team over the 31 league games he has been in charge of. After the defeat to Brentford on Saturday, Manchester United are very much in relegation form.
It could be the case that the established Premier League teams find their feet over the course of the season. This will surely be the case for Manchester United. Nuno might get a tune out of his West Ham players. Wolves could strengthen in January. Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland, however, look to be ready for the fight.
