Premier League 2026-27 relegation: Three surprise contenders for the drop over top-flight newcomers

The three promoted clubs will understandably be among the favourites for Premier League relegation, but the 2026-27 campaign looks far more open than usual.

Ipswich Town, Coventry City and Hull City all face the enormous challenge of adapting to the English top-flight, while there are several established Premier League sides carrying significant risks of their own.

With big change and upheaval at several clubs, could one of the more familiar names suffer a shock relegation?

Sports Mole takes a look below.

Who came up from the Championship?

Hull, Ipswich and Coventry will all be hoping to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, although the odds suggest at least one could struggle.

Sergej Jakirovic's Tigers side are the Opta supercomputer's leading relegation candidate at 38.7%, ahead of the Tractor Boys at 31.2% and the Sky Blues at 27.9%.

That does not make relegation inevitable, particularly given how unpredictable this season could be.

History also shows how important the opening weeks can be - none of the 16 promoted sides to collect at least eight points from their first five Premier League games have subsequently gone straight back down.

Who are the surprise candidates for Premier League relegation in 2026-27?

The newcomers are not the only clubs with problems to solve. Three established sides could well find themselves dragged into the battle, starting in west London.

Fulham

Fulham have enjoyed remarkable stability since returning to the Premier League, never finishing lower than 13th under Marco Silva.

But the Portuguese's departure changes everything.

The Cottagers have lost Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez, who were their two leading scorers last season with 19 goals between them. Issa Diop and Sasa Lukic have also departed, meaning 101 Premier League appearances from last season's squad need replacing. The latter has even joined relegation rivals Ipswich.

The recruitment has been ambitious, with almost £75 million spent on Gonzalo Garcia, Cesar Palacios, Jonah Kusi-Asare and Shea Charles, and new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has very limited senior managerial experience.

The Cottagers therefore enter the season with an unfamiliar squad, a rookie manager and plenty of key players to replace.

Final verdict: Relegated

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's recent success makes their situation particularly intriguing.

The Eagles have won the FA Cup, Community Shield and Europa Conference League across the last two seasons alone, but both Oliver Glasner and sporting director Dougie Freedman have now departed.

Freedman's influence on Palace's recruitment cannot be understated, having played a major role in bringing in high-quality players such as Marc Guehi, Michael Olise, Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze.

Pierre Sage is now tasked with continuing that progress despite having never managed outside France. Add another campaign of European football to Palace's schedule, and the workload becomes even greater.

A squad that has been punching above its weight could suddenly look stretched.

Final verdict: A rough end to 2026 but they stay up

Newcastle United

Newcastle United's relegation danger may be the most surprising of all.

The Magpies finished 12th last season, losing almost half their Premier League matches, and have now replaced a steady boss in Eddie Howe with a gamble in Matthias Jaissle, who has never managed outside of Austria or Saudi Arabia.

Worse still, their midfield spine has been weakened with Bruno Guimaraes joining Premier League champions Arsenal and Sandro Tonali joining their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while uncertainty surrounds players such as Lewis Hall and their futile attacking options must adapt to a new system.

Newcastle still possess considerable resources and quality, but the combination of a managerial change, squad turnover and an immediate opening fixture against Liverpool makes their start particularly important.

Final verdict: Newcastle could be this season's Spurs

The promoted sides will rightly attract most of the relegation attention, but the likes of Fulham, Palace and Newcastle demonstrate why simply having Premier League experience offers no guarantee of safety in what could be one of the most unpredictable relegation battles for years.