Premier League 2024/25 Relegation Watch: Which Teams Should Fear the Drop?

The riches, prestige and glamour of the Premier League make it the dream destination of every English football club (and a couple of Welsh clubs too, for that matter). The battle to make it into the English top flight is tough to say the least, but the dogfight to stay there is even fiercer.

We’ll take a look at the teams most likely to at least flirt with the prospect of relegation from the English top flight during the 2024/25 campaign. We’ll also pick the three clubs that we think are most likely to face the drop at the end of the season.

Who Are the Favourites for Relegation?

A good place to start when assessing the teams most likely to struggle is the current relegation betting odds. Given that the relegation battle can be unpredictable, we’ve included the 10 teams (that is, half the clubs in the division) that the bookies think are most likely to slip into the Championship come May. We’ve also included where each of these sides ended last term and their best-ever finish in the Premier League era.

Team Odds for Relegation Last Year’s Position (Premier League Unless Otherwise Stated) Best Premier League Finish
Leicester City 2/5 1st (Championship) 1st (2015/16)
Ipswich Town 8/11 2nd (Championship) 5th (2000/01)
Southampton 11/8 4th (Championship – won play-offs) 6th (2015/16)
Everton 2/1 15th 4th (2004/05)
Nottingham Forest 9/4 17th 3rd (1994/95)
Wolverhampton Wanderers 7/2 14th 7th (2018/19)
Brentford 9/2 16th 9th (2022/23)
Fulham 5/1 13th 7th (2008/09)
Bournemouth 9/1 12th 9th (2016/17)
Crystal Palace 10/1 10th 10th (various)

Newly Promoted Sides

It should probably come as no surprise that the three favourites for relegation from the Premier League in 2024/25 are the three sides who got promoted from the Championship at the end of the previous season. The three clubs who were relegated from the EPL at the end of 2023/24 (Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United) had all been promoted the campaign before. And there is almost always at least one newly promoted side that lasts only a single season in the top flight, often two.

It is rare for all three to go straight back down, however. Indeed, prior to last season, there’s only been one other occasion in Premier League history (since 1992/93) that all three promoted sides have been relegated.

Leicester City

Leicester City FC logoIt is interesting that Leicester City are the favourites for the drop, not least because they were the Championship winners last term and they even won the Premier League title within the last decade. But the club lost the manager who guided them to the second-tier title, Enzo Maresca, the Italian having been poached by Chelsea (where he’ll hope to stick around until at least Christmas!). Former Nottingham Forest boss, Steve Cooper, has been handed the task of ensuring the Foxes avoid relegation. But clearly the bookies don’t think he’s up to it given that they’re the 2/2 favourites to go down. The key issue here is how many points they will be docked for breaches with anywhere between four and 10 seeming probable.

Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town FC logoIpswich had a fantastic campaign last term and only narrowly missed out on winning the Championship (they finished just a point behind the Foxes). Whether they are capable of raising their game sufficiently to cut it in the rough and tumble of the top flight is another matter, however. They are starting to make some signings (Jaden Philogene from Hull and Liam Delap from Man City look set to join the club), but we feel they simply won’t have the means to compete at this level and we suspect we’ll see a repeat of 2001/02 when they finished 18th, rather than the season before when they managed a very impressive fifth-place finish in the Premier League.

Southampton

Southampton FC logoSouthampton made it to the top flight through the play-offs last term after finishing fourth, 10 points behind champions, Leicester. They have been quieter in the transfer market than fans would have liked thus far, but Southampton is a well-run club and they’ve had plenty of recent Premier League experience, having maintained their top-flight status from 2012/13 to 2022/23. We think they are better-placed than Ipswich to avoid the drop.

Other Main Relegation Contenders

Here we’ll run through the sides that managed to avoid relegation from the Premier League last term, but who will certainly be looking over their shoulders this time around.

Everton

Everton FC logoDespite finishing just above the bottom three in 17th position last term, Nottingham Forest are not the next in the betting for the relegation. That “honour” goes to Everton, who have so-far managed to avoid relegation despite some very near misses over the years. In fact, the Toffees have played more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other club. But the bookies are still pricing them as the 2/1 fourth-favourites for the drop… and given there are three teams going down, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for manoeuvre.

Part of the reason for this bleak assessment of Everton’s chances in 2024/25 comes from their points deductions due to breaching financial fair play rules. There is the possibility they could face further deductions. But even if they don’t, their finances are not exactly tip-top at present and they are almost certainly going to have to sell their prize asset, Jarrad Branthwaite. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin having turned down a contract extension, he could well be on the move too. How well the club reinvests any income could ultimately decide whether they retain their place in the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest FC logoBack to Nottingham Forest, who are not far behind the Toffees at 9/4 for the drop, and it could prove another agonising season for the fans. They’ll be hoping the recent signing of 6ft8in Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel can save a few points for Forest. But it could be the other end of the pitch that proves critical as they lack firepower and could yet lose some of their best attacking players.

There is some hope for optimism though. Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo is a very good manager despite his meagre 26.9% win percentage with this club. It should be remembered that he only joined the Reds in December 2023, however, and with a full pre-season and the chance to stamp his mark on signings, things could well improve. When at both Wolves and Spurs he enjoyed win percentages of 47%, and anything like that with Forest would see them heading towards the top half of the table rather than fearing relegation. That’s easier said than done, of course, but we won’t be backing Forest to go down.

The Rest

Any (or indeed all) of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford, Fulham, Bournemouth or Crystal Palace could face relegation battles in 2024/25. The betting odds would suggest Bournemouth (9/1) and Crystal Palace (10/1) are the least likely of the teams we’ve mentioned to go down. Indeed, Palace haven’t finished lower than 14th in the table since 2015/16, and were a solid mid-table side for much of the last campaign. Moreover, they finished incredibly well under their new boss and will very much be looking up.

Bournemouth ended last season in 15th, but that could have been higher had it not been for an awful end to the campaign. Fulham are another side who seem to do what’s needed to find enough points to edge away from the relegation zone with games to spare. Wolves may have enough to stay up if they can keep hold of their best players, namely Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan. They could do with adding a little more firepower though as they are another we suspect will struggle in terms of attacking output.

Brentford are in a similar position in that a lot will depend on whether they can keep their best players. After a ninth-place finish last term, fans will be optimistic of another decent showing… if Ivan Toney remains at the club.

Which Three Sides Will Be Relegated?

The relegation dogfight can often throw up some surprises and it is very possible some of the teams not mentioned above could be drawn into the scrap. But for us, the three teams that look most likely to be relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 season are Leicester, Ipswich, and Nottingham Forest. Everton just have that dogged knack of finding enough and in Sean Dyche, they have a top-quality boss who knows how to get out of trouble when it matters. When it comes to avoiding the drop to the second tier, it certainly matters.