Fulham’s victory over Brentford in the Championship Play-Off Final means that the newly promoted teams for the 20/21 Premier League season have now been confirmed.
Who Got Promoted?
Leeds United, who won the Championship, are being joined West Brom and Fulham. All 3 teams have experience in the Premier League with Fulham last being involved only 2 seasons ago. West Brom took 2 seasons to get back in the Premier League after relegation in 2018. Following financial problems, Leeds were relegated in 2004 and this will be their first season back.
What Are Their Chances?
All odds are with Paddy Power unless stated.
Leeds United
Marco Bielsa has been a revelation with the Leeds fans since taking over as Manager and he will be hoping for an exciting first season managing in the Premier League. With a couple more additions, a top 10 finish looks within their reach. Odds of 11/1 on a top 6 finish might be worth a look. They will need a couple more strikers to push them on next season. If you think they will perform well above expectations, you can get odds of 22/1 on them finishing inside the top 4.
Leeds have a long-standing rivalry with Manchester United that, despite only having 2 cup fixtures since 2004, has managed to maintain its passion.
Top 4 finish – 22/1
Top 6 finish – 11/1
Top 10 finish – 13/8
Relegation – 4/1
West Brom
Despite the season-ending with promotion, there will be some within West Brom that will be concerned by their end of season form. Only 3 wins after the restart of the Championship meant they stumbled over the line and lost out on the title to Leeds. With the well-respected Slaven Bilić in charge, West Brom could still surprise a few teams and odds of 7/1 on a top 10 finish could tempt a lot of people.
Top 4 finish – 100/1
Top 6 finish – 22/1
Top 10 finish – 7/1
Relegation – 11/10
Fulham
Scott Parker will need to strengthen their squad in several areas if they are to avoid another relegation back to The Championship. The odds of them being relegated is currently evens, this probably speaks volumes about their chances.
Craven Cottage is one of the best away days in the country so Fulham’s return to the Premier League will be welcomed by those that follow their team across the country. Watch: Man United fans at Craven Cottage in 2019
Top 4 finish – 100/1
Top 6 finish – 33/1
Top 10 finish – 9/1
Relegation – Evens
Meet The Managers
Marco Bielsa
Bielsa caught the eye of the English media and public when his Athletic Bilbao side knocked Manchester United out of the Europa League in 2012. Their performances against United at Old Trafford was very impressive. Watch: Man United 2 – 3 Athletic Bilbao
It is somewhat of a surprise that no Premier League took a punt on the Argentinian and he instead ended up in the Championship. Bielsa had previously managed the Argentina national team and was in charge when England beat them 1-0 during the 2002 World Cup. His other managerial experience comes from spells at Lille, Marseille, and numerous clubs in North and South America. Following his rivalry with Frank Lampard during the 18/19 season when Lampard was Manager of Derby County, the Leeds v Chelsea fixture will also be one to watch.
Scott Parker
This will be Scott Parker’s first full season as a Premier League manager having taken over as a caretaker manager in February 2019. Despite Fulham getting relegated, Parker was trusted to get back into the Premier League at the first time of asking and he duly obliged. Having had a playing career that took him to Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham and Spurs, Parker will no doubt be looking to use his array of contacts to improve his squad.
Slaven Bilić
The Croatian has had an eventful managerial career so far and is remembered for managing the Croatia side to victory over England during the Euro 2008 Qualifying Campaign. He does have some experience at this level of football having represented West Ham as a player and manager.
Outside the Premier League, Bilić has been in charge at Hajduk Split, Lokomotiv Moscow, Beşiktaş and Al-Ittihad.
Players To Watch?
Hélder Costa – Leeds United
Costa is a Portuguese winger that has also has experience playing for Benfica, Monaco, and Wolves. In the 2018/2019 season, he made 30 appearances for Wolves. His form earned him a call up for the national team. After 3 seasons at Molineux, he moved to Leeds on loan and has since signed permanently.
Hal Robson-Kanu – West Brom
Perhaps best known for his performances for the Welsh national team rather than club level despite a decent career at Reading then West Brom. Robson-Kanu had his best goal-scoring season during his side’s promotion campaign and will be hoping to continue this form.
Aleksandar Mitrović – Fulham
The Serbian Striker was Fulham’s top scorer last season with 26 but will want to improve on his tally of 11 goals from his last season in the Premier League. Mitrović had previously been at Newcastle but had a disappointing time, scoring only 17 goals in 72 appearances.
How Did Last Year’s Teams Fair?
It was very much a mixed bag for the promoted teams in the 19/20 season. Sheffield United performed well above expectations and were probably unlucky to miss out on a European place. It was a different story for Aston Villa and Norwich City. Villa only survived on the last day of the season and Norwich finished bottom after struggling all season.
How Have Newly Promoted Teams Done Previous?
Teams like Burnley have proven that it is possible to survive consistently in the Premier League. They are now a regular in the Premier League and have done so on a relatively small budget. Sheffield United had a great 19/20 season and will now be hoping to carry on improving. Wolves also had an impressive first season back in the Premier League during the 18/19 season. They qualified for the Europa League and followed it up with an equally impressive 7th place in the season just gone.
Back in the 77/78 season, Nottingham Forest managed to win the old Division One having only been promoted the season before. Brian Clough’s side followed this by winning the European Cup the following season. If you believe this minor miracle can happen again, you can get odds of 200/1 for Leeds to become champions and odds of 500/1 for either Fulham or West Brom to win it.
There has only been one occasion where all 3 promoted teams have gone straight back down. This happened in 1997/1998 with Crystal Palace, Bolton Wanderers and Barnsley suffering from this fate. You can get odds of 40/1 with SkyBet of this happening to Leeds, West Brom and Fulham.
