With the enormous financial incentives attached to being in English football’s top-flight, every Premier League club fights tooth and nail each season to ensure they aren’t relegated to the EFL Championship. With that in mind, read on as we take a look at the teams currently favoured to be demoted to the second-tier of English football a quarter of the way through Premier League action.
Nottingham Forest
After a decent start to their 2022/23 campaign which saw them secure a win and a draw in their opening three fixtures, the Steve Cooper-managed side have performed poorly since. Having lost seven of their last nine, Forest is considered the club most likely to be relegated this season in the football odds at SkyBet.com – with the midlands outfit garnering a short price of 1/3. It doesn’t get any easier for them, with the 19th placed squad having to play Brighton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Brentford in four consecutive league games before the international break for the Qatar World Cup.
Bournemouth FC
Surprisingly, despite sitting in 11th position in the table at the time of writing, Bournemouth is considered the team second most likely to be relegated at the conclusion of the season. The lack of confidence in Bournemouth could be due to the fact they’re one of the three teams promoted from the 2021/22 Championship season, and while they have exceeded expectations to date, it’s clear the bookies believe they will fold as their campaign in the top-flight progresses.
However, Bournemouth fans will be pleased with their draw for the remainder of October and November, with very winnable games on their schedule against West Ham United, Leeds United and Everton.
For those interested in placing a bet on Bournemouth to be relegated, they are currently paying 8/11.
Leicester City
Brendan Rodger’s Leicester City side is proving to be one of the bigger disappointments of the 2022/23 Premier League season, managing just one win from their opening ten fixtures. That’s a far cry from the Leicester we have come to expect in recent years, a side that has finished inside the top eight in two consecutive Premier League campaigns prior to this season.
There’s no doubting the immense pressure Rodgers is under to turn his club’s fortunes around, which is something that is not lost on the 49-year-old.
“How I deal with pressure. I think that’s probably the ultimate thing in this job that comes before you,” he said.
“You’ll hear it in press conferences, you get asked a lot and it’s a huge part of the game, dealing with the pressure. And that can be when you’re clearly doing well also.
“But certainly, when you’re sat towards the bottom of the league, then you definitely find out about yourself and how you regulate that pressure, and how you deal with it.”
Floundering at the bottom of the league table, Leicester is currently sitting at 7/4 to be relegated. Other teams which have garnered short odds include Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton who are at 11/4, 11/4 and 7/2 respectively.
