West Ham United badge – Source: Pixabay
The 2025/26 Premier League campaign has stormed out of the blocks, and it comes as no surprise that both champions Liverpool and perennial runners-up Arsenal have wasted no time stamping their credentials as early title favorites. The Reds have been involved in two straight firefights, beating Bournemouth in a 4-2 opening day thriller at Anfield, before narrowly edging out ten-man Newcastle United 3-2 thanks to a last-gasp winner from 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha. The Gunners, meanwhile, edged out Manchester United at Old Trafford, before thumping Leeds 5-0 at the Emirates in their first home game of the campaign.
Online betting sites have quickly installed both teams as the title frontrunners. The popular Bovada betting site has both priced as the 7/4 joint favorites, with odds on Arsenal being slashed after being just shy of 3/1 before a ball was kicked this term. However, while those two heavyweights look set for a titanic title battle, the lower reaches of the league have begun to host a very different drama.
In the merciless Premier League theater, mistakes are magnified, optimism is fragile, and fragility can curdle quickly into a full-blown crisis if not addressed immediately. Here are four teams that already look like prime relegation candidates, and whether they can weather the storm to avoid falling through the trap door to the second tier next May.
West Ham United
Barely a fortnight into the season, West Ham supporters are already casting anxious glances over their shoulders. Two games played, both lost, with eight goals conceded and just the one scored. A shambolic 3-0 opening day loss away at newly promoted Sunderland was bad enough, but the soul-destroying 5-1 collapse at home to a Chelsea side missing star player Cole Palmer was unforgivable.
Two wins in three games to end last season had the Hammers faithful thinking that the worst days were behind them. Their backline was supposedly reinforced with the £32.8m permanent arrival of Jean-Clair Todibo and promising full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf. But it appears somehow even more porous than it did last term when it shipped a whopping 62 goals, the third most of anybody outside of the relegated trio.
Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was brought in to provide security between the posts despite a poor year last term with Leicester. However, he too was found out repeatedly against Chelsea, especially under the set-piece barrage the Blues unleashed at the London Stadium. Add to that a painfully goal-shy attack void of any pace or ideas, and it’s clear that captain and talisman Jarrod Bowen has a difficult task on his hands if he is to conjure up the magic to keep his side afloat.
Graham Potter’s tactics were already under the microscope heading into this season, but now the critics are growing louder. Since taking over in January, the former Brighton boss has won just five of his 21 games in charge of the Irons. To make matters worse, he’s claimed just nine points from ten home games—the bleakest return any West Ham manager has posted in the Premier League era. If things don’t improve quickly, the Englishman could well find himself out of a job, while the Hammers could be nailed to the foot of the table.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves fans know all about tight margins that separate mid-table security from relegation anxiety. This year—at least based on the opening salvo—events feel poised to tip over the edge. A 4-0 loss to Erling Haaland and Manchester City is, by itself, no disgrace. But the real alarm rang out not at the Etihad, but on the South Coast, as Bournemouth secured a comfortable 1-0 victory in a particularly toothless performance from the visitors.
Last season’s attacking edge, provided by the muscular running of Matheus Cunha and the enterprising width of Rayan Aït-Nouri, has vanished—both players gone to Manchester United and cross-city rivals Manchester City, their replacements either unfit for purpose or yet to adjust to the tempo of the Premier League. Wolves registered just six shots on target combined over the first two weekends, and their lone bright attacking moment was snuffed out by Toti Gomes’ red card—an indiscipline that only deepened their woes.
Vítor Pereira was hailed late last year for steadying the ship. Now, the same tactical conservatism looks overly cautious and ill-suited to a squad stripped of attacking guile or depth. With the injury bug just around the corner—inevitable in a squad so thin on proven Premier League performers—Wolves are at serious risk of being dragged into a relegation vortex. Unless the club moves swiftly for attacking reinforcements before the window slams shut, the “Old Gold” will be looking for points like a charity case, and they may end up empty-handed.
Leeds United
There is no sensation quite like the opening day after a triumphant promotion campaign—and few crashes quite like what unfolded this past week at Elland Road. Leeds United, fuelled by the euphoria of a soaring Championship title, edged Everton 1-0 on their top-flight return. For a moment, all was set fair. But the second round delivered a lesson in Premier League reality with Arsenal running riot in a devastating 5-0 display.
This defeat was not simply a bad day at the office; it flagged the concerns that had simmered through pre-season. Daniel Farke’s men are full of hustle but lacking in Premier League street smarts. Dominic Calvert-Lewin does have top-flight experience, but he won’t be fully fit for some time after joining the club just days prior to the season getting underway. Fellow attackers Noah Okafor and Lukas Nmecha have scored just 12 goals between them across the last three years.
Leeds’ summer business, though energetic, lacked the “statement” signing that can anchor a side’s mentality when the going gets tough. It showed against Arsenal: the Whites lost their shape, crumpled under pressure, and never looked capable of stemming the tide.
The challenge now is psychological as much as tactical. Leeds must quickly absorb the physicality and increased quality of the Premier League while finding answers for an exposed defence and lightweight attack. If the next few weeks don’t bring points—and perhaps new signings—Leeds risk being overwhelmed by the unforgiving current near the bottom.
