The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsWith the new season of the Barclays Premier League already underway, clubs have already begun their pursuit of finishing in their desired positions. One significant position battle this season will be the fight to avoid the drop to the Sky Bet Championship.
Bookmakers have already placed odds on teams to be relegated. They have favoured the teams who were in the mix for relegation throughout last season’s Premier League and the clubs promoted from the Championship.
Out of the 20 teams in the Premier League, 9 teams have been favoured for relegation based on the odds of Bet365, Coral and William Hill. The three promoted sides: Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich are the teams the bookmakers labeled the most likely to sink to the Championship, according to their odds.
The teams who endured the fight to survive last season: Sunderland, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City also have low odds to survive, but not as low as the three promoted sides. Newcastle United and West Ham United based on common odds look least likely to be relegated out of the 9 clubs that have highlighted for the fight to survive.
West Ham United
Many fans of the Hammers would say that a top half finish would be more likely than a fight to survive the drop. However since being promoted from the Championship 2011-12 season, it is fair to say the Irons have experienced 2 relegation battles out of the 3 full seasons in the Premier League since returning. As well as their past struggles, the Irons also experienced a disappointing run in the Europa League qualifiers, which they earned through the ‘Fair Play’ award.
However, a shock 2-0 opener against Arsenal away and a decent spell last season shows why many Hammer fans are optimistic about the new season, with new manager Slaven Bilic leading the way. With promising signings such as Dimitri Payet, the French playmaker from Marseille and good young prospects like 16 year old Reece Oxford rising through the ranks, the Hammers look to have a rejuvenated squad to aim for a top 10 finish. A 2-1 loss to a rejuventated Leicester at the weekend wasn’t in the script but the Foxes look a different prospect this season.
The question still remains on whether the Hammers have the endurance to continue earning plenty of points, because as the second half of last season proved, West Ham managed to slip don the table, thus ending hopes of the top half. Bet365 have West Ham marked 9/1 to be relegated, William Hill are offering 6/1 and Coral 15/2.
