It’s almost time to start anticipating the beginning of the new Premier League season. Football fans are beginning to see transfer rumours, managerial changes, and pre-season fixtures come to light ahead of the new year.
The start of the campaign seems to spark plenty of debate between different football fans. Who will win the Premier League? Who will be the top scorer? There are so many questions that people just can’t wait to get the answer to.
One of the most exciting parts of the Premier League campaign is the relegation battle. This takes place for usually the bottom five or six teams who need to fight to retain their place in the Premier League. The importance of maintaining Premier League football status is undeniable. It’s necessary to bring players into the club, has massive financial benefits, and is very difficult to return to. Avoiding relegation is the goal for plenty of teams in the Premier League, but who is most likely to be towards the bottom of the league this year?
Despite finishing top of the Championship to regain Premier League status, Norwich City is the favorite to be relegated in next season's campaign. Norwich has been a regularly featured side in the Premier League over recent years, and some of its current squad members have experience in the league. The newly promoted side have signed Kosovo winger Milot Rashica, which could be massively beneficial to the squad. However, besides this major signing, they haven’t strengthened their squad in any other areas.
Another regular feature in the Premier League in recent years, Watford gained automatic promotion after finishing second in the Championship. The club has made an immediate return to the Premier League after being relegated in 2020. Manager Xisco Munoz will hope to have a more successful campaign this time around.
Premier League new boys Brentford have looked very impressive in recent years in the Championship. They missed out on promotion narrowly last season. They were beaten by Fulham after the game went to extra time. However, now the tables have turned as Fulham will play their football next season. Brentford will be relying on the likes of star striker Toney to help them survive their debut season in the Premiership.
Crystal Palace has always been a team that has flirted with relegation while playing football in the Premier League. However, a relatively decent campaign last year saw it finish 14th, 16 points above the drop zone. The team currently does not have a manager and has not made any signings approaching the new season. If it cannot sort out these details, it could be in for a long season.
Newcastle had a very inconsistent campaign in 2020/21. Although it picked up some decent results, overall it had a below average year. It did manage to steer well clear of the drop zone, finishing 12th. However, some very poor performances and lack of signings or change are not a good indicators for Newcastle fans.