Which teams will be relegated from the Premier League in 2024-25? GOAL writers make their predictions

Mark Doyle: First things first, we can but pray that next season’s relegation battle (and title race, for that matter!) are not affected by points deductions related to Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR), which just make a mockery of the entire league - but that appears a faint hope given the state of the English game right now. Indeed, newly-promoted Leicester City could well be sanctioned in a matter of weeks for previous breaches of the financial rules.

Still, maybe it won’t make much of a difference to the final outcome anyway, given the gap between the Premier League and the Championship has developed into a gulf in recent years. Last season, all three promoted teams suffered relegation for the first time since 1998. But it will likely happen again this term, with Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton set to go straight back down. Nottingham Forest could certainly struggle again, but even they look a cut above all of the newcomers.

Amee Ruszkai: If this was previewing another season in the Championship for Southampton, I'd say I really like their transfer business. However, a lack of proven quality in the Premier League among those new recruits, and the same for the manager, means inexperience is likely to cost them in the fight for survival. Leicester, another newly-promoted team, are in quite a different place with a side that features a lot of the names that were relegated little over 12 months ago. Yet, the feeling is similar to the Saints in that this Foxes squad just isn't quite good enough to stay afloat in the top-flight, even if the appointment of Steve Cooper gives them a greater chance.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, limped over the finish line in 2023-24, with just four wins from their last 18 games. It's a team that has some real talent, with Morgan Gibbs-White a compelling talisman, but the overall assembly of it feels rather random. Though it is at least a slimmed down version of last year's ridiculous squad, it's still one that features too many under-par performers for me.

Stephen Darwin: It feels like the gap between the sides coming up from the Championship and those towards the bottom of the Premier League is getting ever-bigger. Last season proved as much, with all three dropping straight back down - and that was even after both Nottingham Forest and Everton were hit with points deductions. It's going to be an almighty struggle for Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester to survive, and looking across all three of their squads and the signings that have come in, they don't seem to have the quality and strength in depth to usurp those that are likely to be around them.

Prolific in England's second tier, Adam Armstrong will be hungrier than most to prove he does have what it takes to score goals in the top-flight after struggling in previous years, but even a bucketload of goals from him may not be enough to keep Southampton up. Leicester, meanwhile, lost one of their best players in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and haven't been able to bring in any proven Premier League quality. And for all the fanfare Kieran McKenna's received - and rightly so - for masterminding Ipswich's promotion last term, it would be the stuff of miracles if they manage to avoid the drop.

Looking at their relegation rivals, Forest look the most likely to struggle, but with their experience of beating the drop from the past two seasons, they seem better equipped than the newly-promoted three to stay up.

Richard Martin: Leicester City surged back to the Premier League at the first time of asking but have since seen Chelsea swipe away the manager who took them there along with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the midfielder who knitted their play together. The Foxes also face the looming threat of a points deduction for flouting the league's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Southampton, meanwhile, haemorrhaged goals in the Championship last season, conceding 63 times, which does not bode well for returning to the top flight.

Ipswich Town, however, should buck last season's trend of all three promoted teams going down. Kieran McKenna led them to successive promotions and is a flexible coach whose attacking principles will ensure they win enough games, particularly at home, to stay up. That leaves one vacant spot for the drop which will go to Everton, who have been clinging on for dear life in the last three seasons. Their luck must finally run out, particularly with so many key players leaving and their hands still being tied by PSR problems and funding their new stadium.

Tom Maston: Mid-season managerial changes can switch things up pretty drastically when it comes to the relegation battle, but standing here on the eve of the season, it feels like two of three spots are pretty solidified. Southampton have made a bunch of signings that look like they will help them earn promotion again next season, rather than help them survive this, while Leicester's impending points deduction and financial difficulties means they are coming up in a weaker position than when they last played in the Premier League just over a year ago.

The third relegation spot is harder to predict, but I'm going to back Kieran McKenna to not be another Vincent Kompany and learn lessons as he goes over the course of the season to keep Ipswich up. Instead, this feels like the end for Nottingham Forest, who may need to get rid of Nuno Espirito Santo sooner rather than later if they are to have any hope of keeping themselves away from danger.

Krishan Davis: This prediction is contingent on Kieran McKenna defying expectation and completing another miracle by keeping Ipswich Town in the Premier League following their back-to-back promotions, but that is a challenge the former Manchester United coach will be relishing.

Of course, if Ipswich stay up that means one of the Premier League's established order will drop down to the Championship, and after playing with fire for two years in a row, I'm backing Forest to run out of luck when faced with what should be more competitive rivals at the bottom after last season's record-low points tally for the relegated clubs.

In normal circumstances I would have backed Leicester City to stay up, too, but an imminent points deduction for breaching PSR means they will be starting well and truly on the back foot. Combine that with the fact they have lost their Championship-winning manager Enzo Maresca and key player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - both to Chelsea - and the situation does not bode well. They will be joined in the bottom three by Southampton, who just haven't done enough to bolster their squad following victory in the play-offs.

Matt O'Connor-Simpson: For the second season running, all three promoted clubs will go straight back down. Leicester have a points deduction around the corner, have lost their best player in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and are relying on Patson Daka alongside a creaking Jamie Vardy to score the bulk of their goals. They still have sufficient quality - as well as a decent manager - to make a fight of it, but it’s likely they won’t accrue enough points to steer clear of the drop zone.

Ipswich and Southampton, meanwhile, look well placed to follow in a rich tradition of recently-promoted clubs by staunchly sticking to their manager’s playing philosophy, even after getting smashed for six by Manchester City. Will either of them press the David Moyes button at Christmas? We can’t wait to find out.

As for who might drop down and make the relegation scrap exciting, both Brentford and Nottingham Forest do not look likely to trouble the top half much this season, while Bournemouth could be rocked by losing Dominic Solanke, too.

James Westwood: Leicester and Southampton are going straight back down. Jamie Vardy is an all-time Premier League great, but can no longer be relied upon to lead the line at 37, and a lack of investment in new players will prove to be the Foxes' undoing. Southampton have been far busier in the market, but still don't have enough strength in depth, which Russell Martin will quickly learn as he gets his first taste of top-flight action.

Joining them will be Brentford, who have been showing clear signs of decline under Thomas Frank and look woefully short on firepower after a cruel injury to new club-record signing Igor Thiago. If they can't convince Ivan Toney to stay, the Bees are doomed.

Joe Strange: Leicester’s all-but-certain points deduction means they’re favourites to go down for a very good reason. The Foxes look set to start the season with an even greater mountain to climb after fighting their way back to the top-flight, and with financial concerns still lingering, they appear incapable of strengthening their squad sufficiently enough to muster the 40-plus points it’d take to survive.

Fellow newcomers Southampton also look ill-prepared to fight off relegation despite being active in the transfer market, with their squad lacking the Premier League experience and quality required to stay up. Nottingham Forest will also succumb to the drop after narrowly avoiding it last season, with many of their fans - and owner Evangelos Marinakis, you can safely assume - unconvinced by the job Nuno Espirito Santo has done since replacing the popular Steve Cooper. Ipswich’s momentum from back-to-back promotions, plus a few promising transfers, will be enough to see them escape and finish 17th.