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Leeds United are bracing themselves for a likely Premier League relegation scrap this season as they attempt to buck two-year trend of promoted clubs going straight back down.
There is a general view that the Whites have a better squad than fellow risers Burnley and Sunderland but that is not enough – one of the league’s mainstays must be slain to secure survival.
The gap between 17th and 18th last season was a huge 13 points – a record for the Premier League. While the task for the three promoted clubs is clear, some rivals have seen a clear weakening of their squad.
When analysing who could get sucked into the relegation battle with Leeds, we must note the caveat that the transfer window is not over and there is time for squads to morph, improve and dismantle. But as for the opening weekend, these are the non-promoted teams who might be most worried.
Brentford
The clear one here is Brentford given most of their key players have moved on or look set to. Thomas Frank was such a key part of the fabric that the danger amid his exit to Tottenham Hotspur was that the team’s top players would be snapped up.
Bryan Mbeumo has joined Manchester United and Yoane Wissa looks bound for Newcastle United. Christian Norgaard has joined Arsenal and only time will tell if Caoimhin Kelleher is truly an upgrade of Mark Flekken, now of Bayer Leverkusen.
Head coach Keith Andrews is a big unknown and he’s failed to replace these departed stars with anyone overly notable. Brentford will hope their money-ball policy has once again enabled them to pick the next unknown gems of the top flight.
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The loss of Matheus Cunha always seemed inevitable, but is nevertheless worryingly for Wolves who have lost their main star. Those brought in so far do not inspire the imagination and the loss of Rayan Ait-Nouri to MAnchester City weakens both the defence and the attacking impetus.
Their biggest asset – and perhaps hope – is the manager Vitor Pereira, who managed to get a lot out of a struggling side when he came in last season. On the field, a lot of emphasis is being placed on talented midfielder Joao Gomes but he can’t do it all on his own.
Bournemouth
Out of the three, Bournemouth are the least likely to get sucked in but they look lopsided right now. A decent attack is offset by a weaker defence, which has been truly gutted by rival clubs this summer, making the Cherries victims of their own success.
Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson will give Bournemouth enough confidence that they will be fine and fans will be pleased with the signing of Djordje Petrovic after a good season in Strasbourg on loan from Chelsea.
The midfield, while balanced, looks like it could be overpowered, which would expose a defence trying to get used to each other. Marcos Sensei and Chris Mepham are the only centre-backs over the age of 25.
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