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, Nottingham Forest 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 months' 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 Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Brentford and Wolves could be in trouble.

The Black Cats’ return to the Premier League could hardly have gone better so far as they sit in ninth after seven games. A raucous Stadium of Light witnessed a dominant 3-0 victory over West Ham on the opening day, 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, concluding a strong opening six games.

Championship winners Leeds’ own Premier League return has also been respectable, managing two wins and two draws in their opening seven 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 at Elland Road.

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 Europa League side Nottingham Forest will be viewed as a positive - even if the Reds are also being dragged into the scrap at the bottom.

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, and the cruel luck repeated itself a week later as Brighton scored a late goal to snatch a point at Molineux.

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

Brentford 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 - but they do still sit worryingly close to the bottom three.

Bookmakers now have Burnley, Wolves, Sunderland and West Ham heading the relegation betting, with the opening six games suggesting the promoted sides won't be going down without a fight.

While it is early days, the 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. Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest are also firmly among the favourites for relegation, with the Aussie failing to win any of his first seven games in charge.

View the latest football odds.

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