The race for promotion to the Premier League is often one of the most exciting periods in each season of English football. If you’re a neutral, it is often great to watch, but it can be quite nervy for fans of the clubs involved.
The big question now is who will reach the Premier League, and can they have a successful season in the top-flight should they get promoted?
Norwich City favourites
Norwich City have recovered well from last season’s relegation and the
football odds from Betfair suggests they are huge favourites to go on and win the league with odds of 1/25. One of their most impressive performances was a 7-0 win over Huddersfield Town at the start of April. They were 5-0 up at half time and the performance probably alleviated any remaining doubts about their promotion chances.
Once their promotion has been confirmed, they will be looking at plans for next season. They will want to avoid another relegation from the top-flight and this will mean probably strengthening the squad.
The other contenders
With Norwich expected to win the league, fans will be wondering who will be joining them in next season’s Premier League. Watford and Brentford are 2nd and 3rd favourites to gain promotion and they certainly have the squads to cope with the pressure of an end of season run-in.
Bournemouth were expected to have a quick return to the Premier League but have struggled at times and
have changed their manager. They still have a great chance of reaching the play-offs and will be hoping that their considerable experience can get them over the line.
Last year’s play-off final winner was Fulham who beat Brentford in the final. Brentford had finished 3rd in the league, and you will often find that the side which narrowly misses out on promotion often struggles to win the play-offs.
Could we be in for a shock though? Barnsley have certainly exceeded expectations this season and are currently 4/1 with Betfair to get promoted. They
only narrowly avoided relegation last season, having finished in 21st place.
Inspiration for the newly promoted sides
Leeds United have proven that a newly promoted side can have a good season in the Premier League. A top 10 finish is starting to look likely, and this will perhaps provide inspiration for the likes of Norwich City.
Sheffield United are another side that has proven you can be successful. They were perhaps unlucky not to qualify for Europe after a disappointing end to the 2019/20 season. The less said about their second season in the Premier League the better though.
You need to go back to the 1990s for the best performing newly-promoted sides. Newcastle United (in 1993/1994) and Nottingham Forest (in 1994/1995) both finished in 3rd place and qualified for the following season’s Uefa Cup. In more recent times, Wolves finished in 7th place during 2018/2019, and qualified for the Europa League, before repeating that finish in their second season in the league.
A quick look at next season
In a few months, we will find out if Norwich and the others have what it takes to be a success in the Premier League. Will a highly competitive Championship prove to be adequate preparation for a season in the Premier League?