*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
Norwich and Watford are back for the 2021-22 season, while the Premier League welcomes Brentford to the top table for the first time following their promotion via the Championship play-offs. But will any of those three be heading back down to the second tier at the end of the campaign?
Well, our tipster is backing two of the three to survive with pair of established sides heading down to the EFL. Let’s get stuck in to his 3 best bets…
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Crystal Palace
Palace have spent eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League in relative comfort but will struggle to produce a similar result this season following a summer of turmoil. The Eagles have endured a literal mass exodus of players this summer, with a staggering 28 players leaving the club over the past two months. Many of these departures were obviously not essential squad players, but the experience of the likes of Patrick Van Aanholt, Andros Townsend, Gary Cahill, and Scott Dann will be sorely missed.
More than anything, the departures leave Palace with a threadbare squad that could easily be devastated by injuries or Covid outbreaks as the season goes on.
This mass exodus might have been manageable if Roy Hodgson had still been at the helm. However, the veteran manager’s retirement at the end of last season has left Palace even further in the mire. His replacement Patrick Vieira represents a massive gamble on behalf of Steve Parish.
The former Arsenal midfielder has no Premier League management experience and has been out of a job since being sacked by mid-table Ligue 1 side Nice last December. He faces a mammoth task at Selhurst Park over the next nine months and it remains to be seen whether he is up to the sizeable challenge.
Norwich
Death, taxes, and a Norwich relegation the season after their promotion. The quintessential yoyo club, Norwich have an uncanny ability to end up in the bottom three the season after a promising promotion campaign. The Canaries have been relegated from the Premier League a record five times along with fellow yoyo club West Brom and have finished in the bottom three in each of their last three seasons at the top level.
It is not exactly mystifying why Norwich struggle to stay up in the Premier League. Daniel Farke’s side finished bottom in 2019/20 after making a series of low-key signings following their excellent previous season.
This policy of not living beyond their means is admirable but also makes Norwich a near-certainty to drop straight back out of the top-flight. Farke has failed to adequately replace star man Emiliano Buendia and may yet lose Todd Cantwell too. Norwich finished with a lamentable 21 points during their last stint in the Premier League and arguably boast a weaker squad now following the losses of Buendia, Jamal Lewis and Ben Godfrey.
Another season in the Championship beckons for the Canaries, but they can take comfort – maybe – in the fact that they will become the outright yoyo side in Premier League history, moving ahead of West Brom in the process.
Burnley
Burnley deserve immense credit for remaining in the Premier League for six straight seasons despite appearing to field the same starting XI in every single game. The Clarets’ shape and tactics have rarely changed since their promotion in 2016, while their squad has barely changed since a raft of acquisitions in the summer of 2017, when Charlie Taylor, Jack Cork, Chris Wood and Phil Bardsley all arrived at Turf Moor.
In the most Burnley signing of all time, the Clarets have splashed £12 million on Stoke centre-half Nathan Collins, with the remaining summer acquisitions arriving as free transfers.
Burnley’s squad remains as solid as ever, but it can only continue achieving decent results for so long. A number of crucial players are now the wrong side of 30, while only Collins, Dwight McNeil and Josh Brownhill boast any sort of youth.
Dyche’s side flirted with relegation last season and may just find themselves in the Championship for the first time in six years by the end of this upcoming campaign.
Premier League relegation tips
Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley to be relegated
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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