4 EPL teams who could face a relegation battle in 2018/19

With the 2018/19 Premier League season underway, and all of the teams involved having played two games, it’s already beginning to become clear which sides are likely to succeed and challenge for the title – and which sides might end up struggling.

Last season saw Crystal Palace and Everton recover from disastrous starts to finish in respectable league positions, while West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Swansea City simply couldn’t turn the tide and survive.

But which clubs are likely to find themselves in a relegation battle in 2018/19? After two games it might seem tricky to make a call, but based on their early form – as well as some history and hunches – it’s likely that we’ll see these four clubs in a dogfight come the Spring.

#1: Cardiff City

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock has historically struggled in the Premier League

It was a surprise to most observers when Cardiff achieved promotion into the Premier League in 2017/18 – finishing second in the Championship ahead of more fancied sides like Aston Villa and Derby County. But due largely to a miserly defence – no other Championship team conceded less than the Bluebirds – and a tough attitude, Neil Warnock’s men pulled off the impossible.

Now though, the real hard work begins. And unfortunately for Cardiff fans, the signs are already looking ominous. Despite a relatively calm-sounding start to the season, they’ve already lost 2-0 to Bournemouth and only managed a 0-0 draw with Newcastle – and both performances suggested they’re going to struggle with life in the Premier League.

What appeared to be a solid defence in the Championship was badly exposed by Bournemouth – who took 63% possession, managed 12 shots and even missed a penalty – and up front, Cardiff don’t appear to have enough firepower either – their top scorer in the league in 2017/18 was Callum Paterson – a defender by trade, and even he only managed 10.

Throw in the fact that boss Neil Warnock has historically struggled in the Premier League – he was relegated with Sheffield United in 2006/07 and fired when he took QPR into difficulties in 2011/12 – and it’s practically a certainty that Cardiff are going to struggle this season.

#2: Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield were mauled by Manchester City this weekend

It’d be thoroughly unfair to condemn Huddersfield based on the results of their first two fixtures this season. Sure, they were mauled by both Chelsea and Manchester City – conceding 3 against the Blues and 6 against the Citizens – but those two sides are part of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ and were always likely to batter the Terriers. Basically, they’ve had two of the toughest possible matches right away.

Unfortunately, though, it’s hard to see how David Wagner’s side will manage to survive their second term in England’s top flight. They only just managed it last season – a late draw over a rudderless Chelsea in April largely kept them afloat, but they also conceded more than any other Premier League side outside of relegated Stoke and porous West Ham – even more than bottom-of-the-table West Brom.

And worse for them this season, the league is overall much stronger due to the fact that two of the promoted sides – Wolves and Fulham – look much more equipped for survival than the sides that were relegated in 2017/18. And where the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton have strengthened over the summer, none of Wagner’s signings truly stand out as being marquee Premier League players.

In particular, they still look very short up front. Huddersfield only scored 28 goals last season – less than any side outside of relegated Swansea – and with strikers Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre only managing 13 between them, it’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from in order for them to survive a second season.

#3: Southampton

Mark Hughes kept Southampton up by the skin of their teeth in 2017/18

Southampton are a strange case in that judging by their squad – which contains massively talented players such as Ryan Bertrand, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond – they should never have been in trouble last season at all. And yet they struggled throughout 2017/18 and only finished 17th, staying up by the skin of their teeth despite Mark Hughes supposedly being brought in to right the ship in March.

Perhaps the craziest part? Hughes took charge of 8 games and managed to gain 8 points, winning just 2 games – but he also lost 4, half of the matches he saw over. Sacked boss Mauricio Pellegrino had already overseen 30 matches – but lost just 12 of them, statistically a better record than Hughes’s.

And the opening two games of 2018/19 don’t appear to be boding well for the Saints. They drew 0-0 with Burnley on the opening day but were largely dominated in that game, and their 2-1 loss to Everton showed their issues again – they had less possession, and despite having 15 shots, only managed 4 on target. That final statistic sums up Southampton’s major issue – a lack of goals.

They only managed 37 all season in 2017/18 and for the most part all four of their strikers – Shane Long, Guido Carrillo, Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini were all somewhat disappointing. Hughes has now added Danny Ings from Liverpool to help in this area, but although he’s already scored his first Southampton goal, it’s hard to rely on a player who’s only seen a handful of games since 2014/15. Overall, it’s hard to see Southampton not being sucked into another relegation battle.

#4: West Ham United

West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena has already come under fire for a poor performance this weekend

After a tumultuous season in 2017/18 that saw West Ham replace manager Slaven Bilic with David Moyes and end up finishing in a respectable 13th place despite a lot of fan unrest surrounding the leadership of owners David Gold and David Sullivan, Hammers supporters were given reason to believe in the summer of 2018.

The unpopular Moyes was replaced by former Premier League-winning boss Manuel Pellegrini, and over £100m was spent to bring in new talent, including wingers Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, as well as Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere. Unfortunately though, despite all the signings, it looks like the same old problems are already beginning to surface.

A 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season was followed on Saturday by a disappointing 1-2 loss to Bournemouth in a game that saw West Ham take an early lead. In both games, defensive frailties were to blame for the defeats – the Hammers allowed Bournemouth 12 shots on goal despite only giving them 39% of possession, and at times their defence looked frighteningly open, with poor offside traps giving the Cherries chances again and again.

Given they conceded a shocking 68 goals last season – the same amount as relegated Stoke – you’d have thought Pellegrini would’ve looked to shore up their defence, but new signing Issa Diop hasn’t started a game yet, while Fabian Balbuena has already come under fire for his poor showing against Bournemouth. That game saw Hammers fans walk out early, and while Pellegrini has called for patience, it’s easy to see a situation where they slip into trouble as the season goes on.