Potential Relegation Teams in the Premier League 24/25 Season

Manchester City have won four consecutive Premier League titles and are seen as strong candidates to defend their trophy in 2024/25 once again. With the level of dominance shown by Pep Guardiola’s team in recent years, the title race in England has become extremely predictable.

The relegation battle, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. For example, recent title winners Leicester City descended to the Championship at the end of 2022/23 despite winning their last game of the season against a direct competitor.

The bookmakers were quite correct in identifying the weak links for last season, as Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United could not last beyond one season in the top flight. However, the situation will be more complicated in 2024/25, and it's likely that if you were to take any ClubSport prediction for matches between the main underdogs, you wouldn't find one that confidently favours any particular team.

Nottingham Forest to Run Out of Luck

Everyone and their mother expected Nottingham Forest to be relegated from the Premier League in 2022/23 when the Reds signed 20 new players ahead immediately after promotion. How can a coach achieve anything with a group of players that are seeing each other for the first time?

Nevertheless, Steve Cooper somehow managed to keep Forest afloat that year. And in 2023/24, Nuno Espirito Santo arrived mid-term to lead the Reds to safety again.

However, Nottingham finished just six points above the relegation zone, and only thanks to wins over the eventually-relegated teams in the final matches. With the competition expected to be fiercer this year around, the Reds cannot pray for miracles anymore.

Something Seems Broken at Brentford

Brentford are continuing with Thomas Frank at the helm, the coach that won the Bees their first ever promotion to the Premier League at the end of 2021/22. Most of the key players are still on the team, the club continues with the same data-driven approach to football. Yet something is not clicking at Brentford, and nobody seems to know what it is.

The fact is that Brentford won just five matches in the second half of 2023/24 and came in 16th as a result. They are seen as one of the worst-performing teams with a strength rating of 0.90 by ClubSport. Without major changes over the summer, the London-based club may have to bid farewell to the top flight.

Ipswich Town vs the Cruel Reality

Ipswich Town won back-to-back promotions and are thus returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2001/02. It would make for a great story if the Blues survived the 2024/25 campaign, but that may be an unrealistic dream.

The good news is that the club has retained coach Kieran McKenna despite the approaches from Manchester United and Chelsea. The bad news is that, on paper, the Tractor Boys will have the worst squad in the Premier League next term.

The players that won the League One in 2022/23 and finished second in the Championship 2023/24 will still form the core of the team. And while the squad will be extremely motivated to prove the world wrong, it is impossible to ignore that they were playing third-tier football just two years ago.

Brighton and the Trust in Youth

Countless fans, in England and outside, have fallen in love with Brighton in these recent years. First it was Graham Potter who made the Seagulls regularly punch above their weight, and then came Roberto De Zerbi who took the Albion to European competitions for the first time in their history.

For 2024/25, though, the club has made the bet on 31-year-old coach Fabian Hurzeler. The Texas-born German showed promising signs at St. Pauli last term, playing beautiful football and winning promotion to Bundesliga. But this also means that the young manager has zero experience in a top flight.

Brighton are taking a huge risk. A club can always fire the coach if things do not go according to the plan, but there is no guarantee that there will be a good replacement available mid-season.