Premier League relegation odds: Why the promoted sides aren’t the only teams at risk

• Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland have impressed at the start of the season despite being tipped for relegation

• Wolves, West Ham and Brentford could slip into relegation trouble

• Backing a more established Premier League side for the drop could be the smarter pick

The 2025-26 Premier League season could be the one which sees the promoted sides buck the trend of recent years and avoid relegation.

Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley have all made encouraging starts to the campaign, all getting their first wins of the season within two games, with the Black Cats impressing the most as they fly high in fifth place.

Before a ball was kicked, bookies tipped the three teams coming up from the Championship for an immediate drop back down to the second tier - as has been the case in each of the last two seasons - but the first two weekend's results suggest it may not be as clear cut as that this time around.

Ladbrokes picks out why the promoted teams could defy the odds and survive - and why the likes of West Ham, Brentford and Wolves could be in trouble.

The Black Cats’ return to the Premier Leahue could hardly have gone better so far as they fly high in fifth after six games. A raucous Stadium of Light witnessed a dominant 3-0 victory over West Ham, with Eliezer Mayenda and Daniel Ballard heading home before Wilson Isidor wrapped things up late on.

Sunderland's first away game back in the top flight was not as successful as they went down 2-0 to fellow promoted side Burnley but they have already shown they can be a force on home soil with a last-gasp win over relegation rivals Brentford.

Draws have followed in their next two games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, the latter of which saw them play most of the game with 10 men in what was a resilient display, before a late goal saw them beat Nottingham Forest.

Championship winners Leeds’ own Premier League return has also been impressive, managing two wins and two draws in their six games.

One of those victories was what could be a crucial 3-1 victory at Wolves, who looked nailed on to be battling relegation this term, before drawing 2-2 with Bournemouth.

Burnley are still tipped for relegation by the bookies but have shown enough to suggest they'll make a good fight of things.

After a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham on the opening day, Burnley also got their first three points of the season with an encouraging 2-0 win over Sunderland at Turf Moor with Josh Cullen and Jaidon Anthony on target.

After they were unfortunate not to get any points against Manchester United and Liverpool, a home draw against European contenders Nottingham Forest will be viewed as a positive.

It seemed Graham Potter's sacking by West Ham was inevitable and so it has proven, with Nuno Espirito Santo the man to replace him.

The Hammers look in real trouble of the drop this season after losing four out of five games and Nuno faces a huge job to keep them up, with Ladbrokes now believing they are one of the favourites for relegation.

Wolves were denied their first win of the season by a late Tottenham equaliser in their 1-1 draw in North London.

As a result, the latest relegation odds have them as second favourites for the drop.

Brentford are have been reeling from key departures, not least their manager Thomas Frank and talismanic forward Bryan Mbeumo.

But new manager Keith Andrew is showing he has what it takes to be a Premier League manager, guiding the Bees to wins over Aston Villa and Manchester United as well as a draw against Chelsea.

While their away form could be an issue, the West Londoners are proving those who tipped them to struggle this season wrong so far.

Bookmakers now have Burnley, Wolves and West Ham heading the relegation betting, with the opening six games suggesting the promoted sides have what it takes to stay up.

While it is early days, the early signs suggest the battle against the drop will be much closer than in recent seasons - and as a result the savvy punters might consider picking one of the more established teams to go down.

View the latest football odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.