Football fans eagerly awaiting the return of the English top flight have less than two weeks to wait before the Premiership returns.
Following a summer of footballing heartbreak for English football fans, many will be keen to put the Euro final defeat behind them and concentrate on club football again.
As always, teams have been busy in this transfer window trying to prepare for another tough season and this includes the three promoted teams. Whether they have done enough to stay up this season remains to be seen, and many sites on a list of top-rated UK bookmakers currently have Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton as the favourites to be relegated with odds of around 5/6 on each team.
Betting expert Peter Addison advises searching online for dedicated sports betting sites to find a selection of deals and enhanced prices that can increase returns without the risk – but there’s still no guarantee one of these teams won’t be relegated at the end of the season.
While fans will always back their teams, it will be interesting to see whether they are confident that they can make the step up to one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
Leicester
Leicester successfully made a return to the Premiership just one season after being relegated, and just 9 seasons since they shocked the footballing world by winning it.
So far Leicester have spent the least of any team coming up, a total of £35 million on four players. Bobby Decordova-Reid joins on a free transfer from Fulham, and the club have one other signing from a Premier League rival in the shape of 18-year-old Michael Golding who joins from Chelsea for £5 million.
23-year-old Italian centre-back Caleb Okoli joins for £13 million from Serie A side Atalanta. Leicester’s biggest outlay is on Abdul Fatawu from Sporting who cost approximately £17 million.
The Ghanaian winger spent last season on loan at Leicester so the club knows exactly what to expect from him.
Despite being last season’s Championship winner, Leicester are the current favourites for the drop, and losing manager Enzo Maresca to Chelsea will not have helped their preparations. The former Nottingham Forest manager is bringing his experience as the new boss.
The lack of experience being brought in may be a concern for some fans, and the loss of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for £30 million to Chelsea could also be a problem. However, there is still plenty of time before the transfer deadline at the end of August.
Ipswich
Ipswich returned to the Premier League for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. Fans with long memories will remember a side managed by George Burley featuring players including Matt Holland, Darren Bent, Titus Bramble, and Finidi George.
This time around they are managed by Kieran McKenna who has spent close to £70 million by bringing in seven new players. Leon Elliot and Ben Johnson join from Crystal Palace and West Ham respectively, on free transfers. Conor Townsend joins from West Brom for just £500,000.
All of Ipswich’s signings have been from English clubs with the highest transfer fee being the £20 million they paid to Manchester City for Liam Delap. Omari Hutchinson joins from Chelsea for £18 million, while £15 million was paid for Jacob Greaves from Hull and Arijanet Muric from Burnley.
There is an air of optimism around Portman Road, and fans are hopeful that they can continue their great form in the top league.
Southampton
Like Leicester, Southampton only spent one season in the English Championship and secured their return to the Premiership with a narrow 1-0 play-off final victory over Leeds.
Southampton’s attractive style of play has drawn comparisons to Burnley who failed to stay up last season, but manager Russell Martin has added 10 new signings to his squad at a cost of just over £60 million.
Experienced midfielder Adam Lallana joins from Brighton on a free transfer, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis being their most expensive signing for £20 million from Manchester City.
Interesting Facts and Stats About Newly Promoted Premiership Teams
Last season saw all three promoted teams return to the Championship after one year in the Premier League. However, this hasn’t happened since the ’97/98 season.
This will give fans of Leicester, Southampton, and Ipswich hope and could see a spate of betting on Premier League survival rather than relegation. With UK bettors having a great selection of high-street bookmakers, crypto gambling, and traditional betting sites, there will be a lot of markets to choose from.
Even the most optimistic fan is unlikely to back their team for the highest finish for a promoted side, with the current record set at third place by Newcastle in the 93/94 season and Nottingham Forest a year later. However, Ipswich was the last promoted team to secure a top-five finish in the 00/01 season.
The sobering reality is that the vast majority of sides that are promoted fail to stay up, with 43 teams going straight back down to the Championship.
