It’s been an eye opening return to the Premier League for the teams promoted from the EFL Championship last season. Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton remain winless in their opening six games and surround each other within the bottom six in the league table. It’s never a straightforward return to the top tier but these sides are particularly finding it challenging to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
Ascending to the Premier League from the Championship is never a simple task and these sides deserve an enormous amount of credit for their achievement. Leicester City and Southampton have bounced straight back up after being relegated in 2023 while Ipswich Town have taken the longer route back and have returned for the first time in 22 years. It can take time to adapt but the ruthless nature of the Premier League doesn’t allow for any grace period. With just 38 games, it’s essential that teams come to terms with the pace and strength of the league as quickly as possible.
It’s been a struggle for all three teams so far this season, with neither team picking up a win in their first six games. Ipswich Town lie in 15th place with four draws and two defeats, Leicester City are a spot above the relegation zone in 17th with three draws and three defeats, while Southampton are positioned in 19th place with just one draw to their name.
| 15th- Ipswich Town- 4 points | 17th- Leicester City- 3 points | 19th- Southampton- 1 point |
|---|---|---|
| 0-2 Liverpool (L) | 1-1 Tottenham (D) | 1-0 Newcastle (L) |
| 4-1 Man City (L) | 2-1 Fulham (L) | 0-1 Nottingham Forest (L) |
| 1-1 Fulham (D) | 1-2 Aston Villa (L) | 3-1 Brentford (L) |
| 0-0 Brighton (D) | 2-2 Crystal Palace (D) | 0-3 Man United (L) |
| 1-1 Southampton (D) | 1-1 Everton (D) | 1-1 Ipswich Town (D) |
| 2-2 Aston Villa (D) | 4-2 Arsenal (L) | 3-1 Bournemouth (L) |
Ipswich Town have had the toughest start to life in the Premier League, compared to the other promoted clubs. They have played three of the sides that placed in the top four last season and picked up one point. While they began with two opening defeats, Kieran McKenna’s side shored up their defence and picked up four points on the trot by drawing their last four. Leicester City have also had a challenging start and have had to play three teams that finished in the top five last season. They had a promising start by drawing with Tottenham but followed this up with two defeats. Two draws against Palace and Everton earned some valuable points and they were unlucky last weekend against Arsenal, where two late goals cancelled out what looked like an excellent point away to the Gunners. Southampton have been disappointing so far. With just one point picked up after a draw against fellow promoted side Ipswich Town, it’s not the start the Saints or Russell Martin would have wanted.
Previous Promoted Sides
Over the past five seasons, relegated sides have often struggled in their opening six games. For instance, last season Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley all acquired one point after six games. They were all relegated back to the Championship. Norwich City lost all six games in their return to the Premier League in 2021/22 and they were eventually relegated alongside fellow promoted club Watford. The season previous, Fulham and West Brom started the season winless. Fulham drew just one game and lost five while West Brom drew three and lost three. These sides couldn’t avoid the drop and were sent packing from the top tier.
Promoted sides, more often than not, tend to avoid the drop if they can achieve a win in their opening few games. In the last four seasons each promoted team, with the exception of Watford in 2021/22, that didn’t win a game in their opening six games were relegated. It doesn’t bode well for Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton but there is still plenty of time to prove this statistic wrong. A win in the next couple of games is essential however.
Leaky Defence and Stale Attack
An area that seems to trouble the newly promoted sides begins with their defence. Southampton and Leicester City are both level with twelve goals conceded already and rank joint third in this area. Ipswich have a slightly better record with just ten goals conceded but still won’t be satisfied with this tally. The conceding of goals in the first half tends to be the achilles heel of these clubs. So far this season, Southampton and Ipswich have conceded seven first half goals while Leicester City have conceded six. A first port of call for these sides should be to solidify their defence early as it’s an area that is impacting their results and forcing an uphill task in the second half of games.
While the defence is critical in retaining Premier League status, the opposite end of the pitch is just as important. Southampton currently lie bottom of the pile with just three league goals this season while Ipswich Town have scored just five goals and in a tie with Man United in second last place. Leicester City have scored eight goals which is impressive when you consider they have the fewest number of shots on target so far this season. The Foxes have just nineteen shots on target and are joined by Ipswich in last place in this area.
What’s Next for these Clubs?
The next few games are going to be vital for the survival of the promoted sides. A continuation of these results will mount pressure on bosses and it is tipped that Russell Martin will be the first to be axed from his job. How do the next few weeks look for these clubs?
| Ipswich Town | Leicester City | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham (A) | Bournemouth (H) | Arsenal (A) |
| Everton (H) | Southampton (A) | Leicester (H) |
| Brentford (A) | Notting’m Forest (H) | Man City (A) |
| Leicester (H) | Ipswich Town (A) | Everton (H) |
| Tottenham (A) | Man United (A) | Wolves (A) |
There are some huge games coming up for these sides over the next month. Southampton will have the trickier of the ties as they must travel to Arsenal and City, two sides who are in fine form. Ipswich Town will hope to continue their unbeaten run over the past four weeks when they face West Ham and Everton in their next two games. Leicester City will travel to the two promoted clubs over the next month and will need to pick up a minimum of three points in these two games to start their climb up the table.
A win for any of these clubs changes everything. It will kick start their season and bring an abundance of much needed confidence. There are fixtures in the coming weeks that these clubs can target vital points in their quest for survival and hope to avoid any relegation scrap. However, another run of winless games will inevitably condemn the clubs to a battle to maintain their Premier League status, a fight that no club wants to consider this early in the season. It has been a struggle for the newly promoted sides but there is still hope. Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City have all reached the peak of English football and it can prove to be a slippery slope if navigated incorrectly.