The Premier League is back in action after the World Cup-enforced break. As we inch closer to the midway point in the season, there will be more than a few worried faces in the stands across Yorkshire and the Midlands.
All the five Premier League sides from Yorkshire and the neighbouring Midlands have flattered to deceive this season.
Leeds United, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City all find themselves in the bottom half of the league table. Fans will be hoping that the New Year will bring better fortunes to their beloved football clubs.
The January transfer window will give the clubs a much-needed chance to bolster their ranks. Whether that will be enough for these clubs to avoid a relegation dogfight remains to be seen. Here, we look at the prospects of each of the five clubs in the Premier League in the 2022/23 season:
Leeds United
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— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 22, 2022
Leeds United will have sighed with relief when their side barely avoided relegation to the Championship last season. A final day 2-1 win against Brentford as their relegation rivals Burnley lost 1-2 at home to Newcastle United was enough to extend their Premier League stay.
The Elland Road faithful will be hoping for a less nerve-racking end to the season this time around. On their day, Marcelo Bielsa’s side can go toe to toe with just about any Premier League side. The Yorkshire club has shown patches of brilliance going forward and has regularly found the back of the net. All they need now is to string together a decent run of wins and safely avoid a relegation battle.
Their away form has been lacklustre, with only a single win on the road this season they came away at Liverpool on October 29th, just before the international break. If Leeds can stop those losses away from Elland Road, a top-10 finish is a solid and achievable target.
Nottingham Forest
Newly promoted Nottingham Forest finds themselves worryingly close to the wrong end of the table. Forest fans have every reason to worry about their beloved club sitting precariously at 19th position after 16 games.
Despite the splashing on summer signings, Nottingham’s first season back in the Premier League after a 23-year hiatus isn’t exactly going according to plan. Forest may not have dreamt of setting the league alight and strolling to the title. But neither did the dream of staring down the barrel of the relegation gun this early in the season.
Although Steve Cooper’s side hasn’t been afraid of taking the game to the opponents, they have sometimes looked out of depth and bereft of ideas. Having scored 11 goals and conceded 30 goals in 15 games, Nottingham is amongst the worst attacking side and defending sides in the Premier League this season. Forest is yet to register a win away from home, managing two draws and five losses in seven games.
Unless Steve Cooper and his charges can arrest the situation fast, betting on Forest to drop right back into the Championship looks like a solid bet. The relegation race is truly on, and it is guaranteed to be exciting as teams battle for survival- unless you happen to be a supporter of any of these teams. Whichever side you back to evade relegation into the Championship in May, you can get the best odds across a variety of betting sites. Gambling.com got you covered and prepared a compilation of the best online sportsbooks in Maryland.
Aston Villa
Watkins has the ball in the net but the flag is up for offside before Buendía shoots into the side-netting minutes later.
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— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 26, 2022
Aston Villa has already taken the drastic decision of firing Steven Gerrard and replacing him with Unai Emery. Since the Spaniard took over at Villa Park, Aston Villa has recorded three wins in five games, including a memorable 3-1 win against Manchester United. At their current progression, it is hard not seeing Villa in the top 10 in the next couple of games. With only five points between themselves and the relegation places, Aston Villa needs to start putting points on the board quickly.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves are currently locked in a battle for survival alongside Southampton and fellow Midlands club, Nottingham Forest. After a decent 10th-place finish last season, the Molineux side has struggled to get their footing this season. Wolves fired manager Bruno Lage in early October before appointing ex-Spain national team manager Julen Lopetegui a month later.
The Ex-Real Madrid manager has been tasked with steering the Wolves back to safety. If he is to change the Wolves’ fortunes, Lopetegui needs his team to fire on all cylinders up front. As it stands, the Wolves are the lowest-scoring side in the Premier League, having breached the opposition defence just 10 times in 16 matches.
Leicester City
Thank you for your support today, Blue Army ? pic.twitter.com/zXlKwwp2Ey
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 26, 2022
Leicester City hasn’t been the same since the odds-defying 2015/16 title triumph. Still, nothing less than a decent top-10 finish is expected of Brendan Rogers’ side. UEFA Europe League or Conference League qualification would be a nice topping on the cake for fans lining up in the stands in the King Power.
