Premier League 2023/24 relegation odds: Who are the early favourites to go down?
The 2023/24 Premier League is rolling on and the relegation battle continues with a few teams already struggling.
Who will be relegated from the Premier League in 2023/24?
Luton
As is often the case, the promoted sides were at the top of the list for favourites to go straight back down, and Luton are the team currently being backed most to be relegated next season. Back in the top flight for the first time since 1991/92 — the final year before the Premier League was formed — Luton went all the way down to non-league and back during their top-flight exile but they are back.
Some Luton fans might have felt hard-done-by but the Hatters lost their first four Premier League matches. It was a disastrous start to life in the Premier League for Luton, losing 4-1 to Brighton, and then 3-0 against Chelsea. The losing streak continued against London sides with defeats to West Ham and Fulham either side of the international break. But finally, finally, Luton got their first point of the season, drawing with Wolves at home. They need to build on this now.
Sheffield United
Another newly-promoted side, Sheffield United finished second in the Championship and are back in the Premier League after just two seasons away. The last time they were promoted to the top flight, the Blades came up as Championship runners-up and finished ninth, shocking pretty much everyone. However, they suffered second-season syndrome the very next year, finishing rock bottom. Can they build a run in the Premier League?
The 2023/24 campaign started with three consecutive defeats for Sheffield United, losing to Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Man City. However, they got their first point with a 2-2 draw against Everton before the international break. They were then well on their way to three points away to Tottenham but a monumental collapse saw the Blades concede twice in injury time to seal yet another defeat. A week later they shipped in eight unanswered goals against Newcastle furthering their plight.
Everton
For the second season in a row, Everton survived by the skin of their teeth and in 2022/23 they were so close to saying goodbye to the Premier League. The 2022/23 campaign was Everton’s 68th consecutive year in England’s top flight but they only finished two points clear of 18th-placed Leicester, securing safety on the final day thanks to a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
This season started with a 1-0 defeat to Fulham, where for the first time in the last six seasons they had an xG of 2.5 or higher (2.76) and failed to score, and things didn’t get any better with a humbling 4-0 loss at Aston Villa. Another bright home performance followed, but the Toffees still couldn’t find the net and fell to an extremely damaging 1-0 loss against Wolves.
The winless streak did come to an end this weekend though, with Everton scoring three goals in their win over Brentford, lifting them up to 15th.
Wolves
Before the start of the season, there was optimism surrounding Wolves, but that has quickly fallen away. Things were looking up under Julen Lopetegui ahead of his first full season in charge, given how he had turned things around in the previous campaign. But Lopetegui is no more, and Gary O’Neil is the man in the dugout, and it’s not been good. Wolves have lost four of their opening five games, only beating Everton below them. Against Liverpool they were ultimately made to pay for not taking advantage of their fantastic first half, giving up a 1-0 lead to lose 3-1. And there was another lost lead against Luton, also dropping to 10 men.
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Burnley
Vincent Kompany has received a lot of praise for his work in getting Burnley back up into the Premier League at the first time of asking, in his first season of management in English football. The Clarets played good football and were free-scoring in the Championship, as well as having a tight defence. But there’s no denying the Premier League is a step up and it will be a big test for Kompany, who lost his opening game 3-0 to former club and last season’s treble winners Manchester City.
It hasn’t got any easier since, with Burnley losing 3-1 to Aston Villa and 2-5 at home to Tottenham, though they did pick up their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw on the road to Nottingham Forest. Burnley were ahead at half-time in that game and will be regretting not holding onto the lead, especially as their winless run continued in defeat to Manchester United.
Bournemouth
Considering they finished 15th, it might be a surprise to some to see Bournemouth as one of the most-favoured sides to go down from those in the Premier League in 2022/23. There were times in the season when the Cherries looked certain to go down but in the end they managed to finish five points clear of the relegation zone, sealing safety with a few weeks to spare. Many expected Gary O’Neil to be the man leading them through this season but he wasn’t given the permanent role, with Andoni Iraola taking charge instead. The Spaniard got life in the Premier League up and running with a 1-1 draw against West Ham, but still has a lot of work to do with the south coast side especially following a humbling 3-1 loss at Liverpool, where they took the lead after just three minutes. Again, on the road, they couldn’t make it count as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Brentford, but they did pick up a spirited 0-0 against Chelsea before suffering a 3-1 loss at Brighton.
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Fulham
Looking back to Sheffield United’s previous stay in the Premier League, perhaps there is some fear that Fulham could copy them in 2022/23. On their Premier League return, Fulham finished a healthy 10th in the Premier League, eight points clear of neighbours Chelsea and 18 above the relegation zone. But will second-season syndrome set in? It was a good start to the new campaign, with Fulham beating Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park, before falling to a 0-3 loss to Brentford at home.
Snatching a late draw at Arsenal calmed the nerves, but it soon heightened with a humbling 5-1 loss at champions Manchester City. On their return from the international break, Fulham beat Luton 1-0 and have followed that up with a goalless draw against Crystal Palace.
Nottingham Forest
Finishing one point below Bournemouth in the 2022/23 table was Nottingham Forest, who many also had going down for quite a lot of the season. Steve Cooper saw his job at risk at multiple points in the campaign but the club stuck with him and it paid off, with safety secured thanks to a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the City Ground.
Arsenal were the opponent on the opening weekend of the season, with Forest falling to a 2-1 defeat at the Emirates, but they did bounce back with a 2-1 success over Sheffield United before throwing away an early two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Man Utd at Old Trafford. Lessons were learned as they ran out 1-0 winners at Chelsea before the international break, following up with a 1-1 comeback draw against Burnley — a disappointing result at home, but a point from a losing position is not to be sniffed at. Man City ended Forest’s unbeaten run at two games.
Chelsea
Yes, you read correctly, Chelsea are among the early relegation candidates. Even if that seems unrealistic, their continued poor form is cause for serious concern given the eye-watering amounts of money they’ve spent. There have been positive signs in their performances under Mauricio Pochettino, but the Blues continue to spurn an alarming number of chances in games. Their only win in the Premier League so far this season came at home to newly-promoted Luton Town, while they’ve already suffered humbling defeats to Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, and away at London rivals West Ham. It’s early stages, but things need to pick up quickly for a side that expects so much, but finished 12th last season.
