The favourites for relegation in the Premier League this season

For many Premier League teams, the threat of relegation brings a sense of dread each season. There’s nothing worse than seeing your team tread water for months before slipping down into the murky reaches of the relegation zone.

With the World Cup around the corner, the race is on in the Premier League to pick up as many points as possible and stave off the dreaded drop. With about a third of the English top flight season gone, let’s take a look at the teams the football betting market is suggesting could go down.

Nottingham Forest

It’s been a difficult start to life back in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, who are many people’s favourites for the drop. However, Steve Cooper’s side have shown signs of life in recent weeks, and the 1-0 win over Liverpool at the City Ground should galvanise this Forest side. It seems that the raft of new signings brought in over the summer are finally starting to gel. Will it be enough to keep Forest in the top flight?

Bournemouth

When Bournemouth lost 9-0 to Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the campaign, then-manager Scott Parker suggested that a difficult season could be in store for the south-coast side. Parker promptly lost his job a few days later, and since then Bournemouth have produced some decent results, sitting 13^th in the table at the time of writing.

Gary O’Neil is still holding the reins at the Vitality Stadium having initially taken over on a short-term basis, and it will be interesting to see if he has what it takes to keep Bournemouth in the division.

Leeds United

Despite some promising results earlier in the season, things are getting a bit pear-shaped for Jesse Marsch and Leeds United. The latest disappointment was a 3-2 loss to Fulham at Elland Road, which has left the American feeling the heat and Leeds facing the threat of relegation. There is plenty of quality in the side, and you feel that will shine through eventually. The only question is whether Marsch is the man to bring it out.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

It’s been a torrid few months for Wolverhampton Wanderers. With just two Premier League wins to their name this season, Bruno Lage has been shown the door, and Wolves have struggled to find a replacement. Steve Davis will remain in temporary charge until after the World Cup, and Wolves fans will be hoping that they are not cut adrift by then.

Southampton

It’s been a similarly disappointing story for Southampton so far this season. Some disappointing results have left the Saints hovering just above the relegation zone, although they’ll be buoyed by taking a point off league leaders Arsenal in their most recent outing. Ralph Hasenhüttl usually finds the winning formula eventually, though it seems as though another mid-table finish is the ceiling for Southampton at the moment.

Leicester City

After recording a timely 4-0 win against Wolves last time out, the pressure has lifted slightly from Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City. The Foxes have been a shadow of their old selves this season, with the lack of investment in the team over the summer contributing to a poor start to the campaign. Rodgers is a good coach though, and you’d expect Leicester to have too much quality to be dragged into a relegation dogfight.