While much of the attention in preseason is dedicated to the teams expecting to challenge at the top of the Premier League, others are preparing themselves for a battle against Premier League relegation.
Premier League Relegation Odds 2018/19
Premier League Relegation Stats
When looking for potential Premier League relegation candidates the first thought if often to look at the newly promoted clubs and with good reason. Since the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams, 29 of the 66 relegation places have been taken up by teams which were promoted the season before.
Furthermore, in six of the last eight Premier League seasons, the team finishing 17th in the league the season before has been relegated. So, with that mind let’s look at who could be relegated from the Premier League in the 2017/18 season.
Premier League Relegation Main Contenders for 2017/18 Season
1. Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town won promotion to the Premier League by winning the playoffs last season in what was a fantastic story. This will be the first time the club have played in the top-flight since the creation of the Premier League.
They have broken their transfer record many times already during this transfer window but have not added what would be deemed proven Premier League quality. This is going to be a very tough season for Huddersfield Town and UK betting sites are right to have them as favourites for relegation back to the Championship.
Huddersfield are 4/7 to be relegated from the Premier League and 2/1 to finish bottom
2. Brighton and Hove Albion
Unlike Huddersfield Town, Brighton and Hove Albion have been close to winning promotion to the Premier League in recent years so it was no surprise to see them finally achieve their goal last season.
They have a good team but question marks remain over whether it is good enough to avoid relegation straight back to the Championship. They have signed Matt Ryan to play in goal, who is a good addition to the team but they may struggle to score goals with their current striking options.
At 6/5 Brighton and Hove Albion must be considered one of the favourites to occupy a relegation place come the end of the season.
3. Newcastle United
Of the three promoted teams, Newcastle United have the best chance of staying up. They won the Championship last season and the three previous winners all avoided relegation from the Premier League the following season.
They have enough quality in their squad as it stands to make a good fight of staying up and have Rafa Benitez at the helm, a manager who is proven at the top level of the game.
However, the Spaniard is becoming frustrated with Newcastle’s lack of movement in the transfer market and that could lead to some unrest at the club. However, Newcastle have a decent start to life in the Premier League, with just four of their first sixteen matches against teams who finished in the top 7 places last season.
Newcastle United are 4/1 to be relegated and while they should be safe, their start to the season will be very important.
4. Watford
The Hornets suffered a dreadful run of results towards the end of last season, losing seven of their last eight games, with five in a row to finish the Premier League season.
This poor run of form saw Watford finish in 17th place and in recent times this has been a precursor to relegation the following season. They seem to change their manager often and will have Marco Silva in place for the start of the new campaign.
The Portuguese could not prevent Hull City from being relegated last season but did show signs of being a good Premier League manager. However, striker Troy Deeney has been linked with a move away from the club and if he goes, it could be a season of struggle at Vicarage Road.
Watford could be in for a difficult season and at 2/1 make a good bet to be relegated to the Championship.
5. Burnley
Sean Dyche kept Burnley out of the relegation scrap for much of last season and did very well to finish 16th in the final table.
How Burnley cope with the loss of Michael Keane in defence will be key to remaining in the Premier League this season. At the time of writing they are yet to replace the former Manchester United centre back and if they fail to do so with a quality defender, Burnley could be in trouble.
The current signings of Jonathan Walters, Phil Bardsley and Jack Cork are not very exciting but have good Premier League experience, which will help in their second season back in the top-flight.
Burnley are 4/7 to stay in the Premier League.
6. Swansea City
Whether Swansea City can stay remain in the Premier League could be down to Gylfi Sigurdsson. If they can keep hold of the attacking midfielder it would be a huge boost to the club and will see them start the 2017/18 Premier League season with confidence.
If they fail to keep hold of the Icelandic international, it would be a different story and Swansea would be on the back foot with such a big loss. However, with Paul Clement enjoying a full preseason with his players, the Englishman should offer some stability at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea are 4/11 to stay up.
Other Potential Premier League Relegation Candidates
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have appointed Frank de Boer as manager for the upcoming season and the Eagles will be hoping to improve defensively as a result. They have brought in Jairo Riedewald and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, which look like good additions and Crystal Palace should avoid the relegation places.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth have also added to their squad widely with the additions of Asmir Begovic, Jermaine Defoe and Nathan Ake and should be safe this season.
Stoke City
The most intriguing bet could be Stoke City. Often difficult to predict, Stoke have added Darren Fletcher and Kurt Zouma to their squad but have lost Marko Arnautovic.
Relegation Treble Bet at 18/1
As one final bet, a relegation treble usually makes for good odds and this season is no different. Based on the predictions of Huddersfield, Brighton and Watford to be relegated, Go for the 18/1 on offer for all three teams to suffer relegation from the Premier League in the 2017/18 season.
