Premier League Return: How do the Relegation Odds Look?

The Premier League 2019/20 campaign is set to resume soon after it’s long-awaited return has been approved.

With just nine games remaining, the battle for the number one spot at the top of the league is almost decided already, as Liverpool sit comfortably on 82 points after 29 games and 25 points clear from Manchester City.

However, the relegation battle is far from over and it is likely fans and pundits will be eagerly watching the chaos set to ensue from the sides at the lower end of the table’s fight for top-flight survival.

Here, we take a look at the Sky Bet odds for the sides to be relegated for the end of the season.

Norwich City are the favourites to be relegated, with the likely odds of 1/10 for the side who sit at the bottom of the table to face the drop.

Daniel Farke and his men have performed valiantly this season, defying their critics and maintaining their free-flowing style of play which has earned them victories against the champions City and third place Leicester City.

Despite this, however, the Canaries have only managed five wins all season and have lost a staggering 18 games already, amassing just 21 points all season. For this reason, they are the side most likely to be relegated by the end of the campaign

Like Norwich, Aston Villa are a side tipped to be relegated just a season after being promoted, with odds of 2/5 for the Claret and Blues to be a Championship side next season.

Villa have struggled for results all season, with just seven wins and four draws accumulating them a total of just 25 points thus far. Despite having a game in hand against all the other sides on this list, Dean Smith’s side will have to dig deep if they wish to avoid the drop by the end of their 10 remaining fixtures.

Fans will be hopeful their club can escape the drop, as it seems likely their talisman and captain, Jack Grealish, is set to leave in the coming transfer window and Villa will find it difficult to replace him should they be relegated to the English second tier.

Sky Bet have tipped Bournemouth as the third team to most likely be relegated to the Championship this season, with odds of 5/6.

The Cherries have been a top-flight club since 2015/16, but now face the drop after struggling to accumulate points over the 29 games they have played.

Luckily, Eddie Howe and his men are currently joint third from bottom, on points, with two other sides, which will give fans of the Vitality stadium some hope their side can remain a Premier League side.

However, Howe and his men face an uphill battle to survive the drop after their nine games to play, and their remaining fixture list still includes Manchester United, Tottenham, Leicester City and Manchester City – who they managed just three points against in the reverse fixtures.

West Ham United are also among the relegation candidates for this season, as Sky Bet have rated their odds to go down at 7/4.

The Hammers have been relegated twice before during the Premier League era, last being dropped from the top tier in the 2010/11 season, before being immediately promoted in the following campaign.

Now, the east London club are also on 27 points and have already lost the same number of games they lost last season, with 16 defeats already.

Most worryingly for West Ham fans is the fact of their side being the seventh highest spenders in the league this year and the highest spenders among the bottom half of the table also, with a total spend of £99 million.

Despite having Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham still to play however, fans of the Hammers will be content with a remaining fixture list that contains three of the bottom four sides, who all currently sit below them.

Watford have been given an outsider’s chance to be among the sides relegated, as Sky Bet have set their odds at 9/4.

The Hornets have had a difficult campaign so far, failing to win a game until game week 11 and since then have only managed six wins in total, yet being the only side to beat the league leaders, Liverpool, in a surprising 3-0 victory.

Although, injury and fitness problems have plagued Nigel Pearson’s side all season with captain and main frontman, Troy Deeney, missing out on 10 games due to a severe knee injury.

After the break, Watford are currently set to come into the remaining fixtures with a full squad, giving their fans and players hope they will manage to extend their four consecutive years in the Premier league, to five.

Brighton are currently the least likely to go down come the end of the campaign, according to Sky Bet, with odds of 11/4 to be relegated.

The Seagulls narrowly escaped the drop last season, finishing just two points ahead of eighteenth place Cardiff, despite winning one less game than the Welsh side.

Now once again, Graham Potter’s side are just two points clear of the relegation zone, and will need to ensure they produce the results they will need to survive.

Interestingly, Brighton possibly have the most difficult fixture list of the bottom six, as they are yet to face Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Leicester and Arsenal. Their difficult run of final fixtures could make them a punt worth making for any on-lookers seeking to build an accumulator for sides to be relegated.

By Brad Beecham