By John O’Leary
Unless the likes of Leicester, Everton or even Wolves get their act together, there is little chance that the ‘big six’ are going to be disturbed at the top of the Premier League this season.
However, at the bottom of the Premier League table, things are looking much more interesting. Newly promoted clubs like Aston Villa, Sheffield United and Norwich City will find it tough to play against top-flight sides.
Last season saw Brighton, Burnley and Southampton coming close to getting relegated, and it’s going to be interesting to see how clubs like Newcastle United handle the dramatic changes that occurred in the pre-season.
So who do the bookmakers have down as being the most likely to be playing in the Championship after the end of the season? Unsurprisingly, it’s the new arrivals who are getting the shortest odds on going straight back down.
Sheffield United have emerged as the club with the smallest chance of staying in the Premier League. Check out this bookmaker here and you’ll find that Chris Wilder’s team are way ahead of other clubs in Bwin’s odds for relegation this season. Bwin always provide punters with a good indication of what could happen in future footballing events, and so Sheffield United fans will be worried about what the next season could hold.
Although there is no denying the popularity of Chris Wilder, it’s easy to see why Sheffield United could struggle. The club have attempted to step up to the mark by making a few signings such as Lys Mousset from Bournemouth.
Even if quality players like Oliver Norwood and Billy Sharp shine this season, there’s such a difference between Sheffield United and the big names in the Premier League that they could easily be this season’s Huddersfield Town.
Norwich City had a fantastic season and were worthy of their Championship title. Daniel Farke’s team were in incredible goalscoring form, and much of this was down to the efforts of Teemu Pukki who was easily one of the Championship’s best players.
However, Norwich have a well-documented history of being relegated directly after gaining promotion to the Premier League.
So what needs to be done to stop the Canaries dropping out of top-flight football for the fifth time in seven seasons?
There is little doubting the fact that Norwich’s defence was dangerously leaky last season. Daniel Farke hasn’t made too many big signings this summer, and so it’s easy to see how it could be another difficult season at Carrow Road.
Brighton were achingly close to relegation last season. Although they have added Graham Potter as team manager, they will need to do much to shake off their underwhelming recent performances.
Thankfully, they have added the likes of Leandro Trossard on the wing, and Potter has already earned a decent reputation for his attacking style of football. But it’s hard to imagine anything other than a mid-table performance at best from the Seagulls.
Burnley are another Premier League team who will have to improve this season. Sean Dyche has shown that he can get the most out of his players, but it remains to be seen what can be done about their limited defence. Although the return of Jay Rodriguez was a positive move, Burnley are expected to find it even trickier this season.
Aston Villa have gone on a mammoth spending spree this summer, and they are currently looking like the newcomers most likely to stay in the Premier League. Dean Smith has spent over £100 million on new players, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the arrival of Wesley could add to the Villa attack.
With Rafa Benitez finally out of the picture, Newcastle United fans will be facing a challenging season under Steve Bruce. Although the signing of Joelinton might have calmed things down a little, there’s still a huge amount of anger at Tyneside over Mike Ashley’s handling of the club.
Hopefully, the Magpies can keep things together, but it’s easy to imagine Newcastle United being threatened with relegation this season.
Southampton came in for a relegation scare last season, but new coach Ralph Hasenhuttl managed to get some excellent results against bigger teams. Whilst the Saints are never too far away from danger, with Danny Ings now being a permanent member of the club, there’s hope that Southampton might have an easier ride this season.