Before the beginning of the 2022/23 Premier League season bookies had newly promoted Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham as the teams most likely to face relegation (as of 2 August 2022 via Oddschecker.com. As things stand, none of these teams are considered favourites anymore. Fulham sit a staggering 16 points clear of the bottom 3, with Bournemouth safe by 10 and Nottingham Forest hanging on to 17th by a point. The season has been incredibly unpredictable so far, but with only a few games left to go, which of these teams could be facing the EFL Championship next season?
As things stand, 20th place Southampton are widely considered favourites. Many Saints fans will be regretting the club’s sacking of Ralph Hassenhutl, who saved them from the drop many times in the past. His replacement, Nathan Jones, was sacked for his poor form after only 12 games (the shortest managerial stint in Southampton’s history!) and caretaker Ruben Selles hasn’t done much better, only managing to pick up 9 points out of 12 league games. With a 6 point mountain to climb in 4 matches, things seem to be all over for Southampton.
But what about the other teams? As things stand, 6 other sides are at risk of relegation. Wolves are seemingly safe with a 7 point cushion, but the remaining 5 could be in serious danger. 19th place Everton have been poor under Sean Dyche recently, having not picked up a win in the last 6 games. The no-nonsense English manager is known for saving his previous side, Burnley, many times from the drop, but considering their poor form survival is looking less and less likely for the Toffees. The third relegation spot is currently occupied by Leicester, who appointed their new head coach Dean Smith only three games ago. He’s picked up a win, a loss and a draw so far, but has a tough task ahead of him managing a side that spent so little in the summer transfer window.
Nottingham Forest sit on the opposite side of the spectrum to Leicester, spending a whopping £145.8m in the summer (5th in the Premier League). Forest have struggled greatly throughout their first Premier League season since 1999, sitting only 1 point safe of the bottom 3. They sit level with Leeds United, who have an incredibly tough run of matches ahead of them against Manchester City, Newcastle, Tottenham and the final relegation candidate: West Ham. Despite multiple poor runs of form, the Hammers have stuck with David Moyes throughout the season, who has them 5 points safe of the drop. It’s looking likely they’ll stay up, but the squad must avoid any complacency creeping in.
Many of these teams are yet to face each other for a second time this season, meaning this battle could go straight down to the wire with some six-pointer clashes. It’s one of the best seasons we’ve seen in years at the bottom of the table, and I have no doubt the finale of this relegation battle will be just as entertaining as the last 8 months of it have been.
