While a lot of attention for the 2024-25 Premier League season will be the battle for the title and top four places, the battle to avoid relegation is another area that cannot be overlooked.
Afrosport takes a look at the three teams that might not be able to beat the drop at the end of the season.
Ipswich Town
The Tractor Boys are back in the English top flight for the first time in 22 years after multiple failed attempts in gaining promotion.
This was made possible through the work of former Manchester United assistant coach Kieran Mckenna who led them to a second-placed finish in the Championship last season and will be tasked with ensuring their survival status.
It is however going to be a tall task which might not be a reality at the end of the day owing to stability and improvement in teams that gained promotion in recent years such as Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers among others.
Southampton
The Saints gained instant promotion back to the Premier League but had to go through the route of winning the Championship play-off final against Leeds United.
It is a brave effort for Southampton to be back up among England’s best teams. They however do not have the strong squad that gave them a solid reputation down the years.
Indeed, the years when they had names such as Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle, Nathaniel Clyne, James Ward-Prowse, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Maya Yoshida and a host of others are long gone and such factor was partly responsible for their relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Staying up will therefore be a herculean task for the south coast outfit.
Nottingham Forest
Forest will be playing in the Premier League for the third consecutive season. It has not been an easy run for them as the past two seasons were spent battling the drop.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo is still in charge after taking over from Steve Cooper, who is in charge of newly promoted Leicester City.
The Sao Tome-born Portuguese tactician has however not been able to improve the team’s form considerably, meaning his job could be on the line if Forest do not hit the ground running.
The competitiveness of the Premier League will mean that the relegation battle will be very intense and Forest might not be able to survive it this time.
