Micah Richards picks which promoted side he is worried for next season – Leeds United, Burnley or Sunderland
The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is widening with all three promoted sides relegated for a second successive season – as Leeds United now look to buck that trend.
It is now two Premier League campaigns in a row that all three promoted sides have been immediately relegated to the Championship. The chasm between the Premier League and Championship is growing.
Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton have all gone back down – with the Saints losing more matches than any other Premier League side in history. They suffered defeat on 30 occasions out of 38 league games.
Alan Shearer believes the trend will soon come to an end, with Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland tasked with changing that. But it will be a tall order, given Europa League winners Tottenham finished in 17th place.
Micah Richards picks which side he is worried for next season
Leeds and Burnley both achieved 100 points during 2024-25 and deserved their automatic promotion to the Premier League. But not many will have seen Sheffield United losing to Sunderland at Wembley.
Late goals from Eliezer Mayenda and Tom Watson saw Sunderland come from behind to beat Sheffield United at Wembley in the play-off final. On Match of the Day, Richards said he is worried for Sunderland.
He says Leeds have a chance of survival as they will have money to spend: “It’s hard. I watched Burnley a lot this season, they’re really good defensively. Leeds will have money to spend, I fear for Sunderland.”
Why Leeds are better placed than the three teams going down
Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich are going straight back down and Leeds fans are right to look at that and be concerned. It saw Daniel Farke’s future as Leeds manager come under the microscope recently.
But Leeds are in a much better place going up, than those three sides. Leicester lost their best player and manager to Chelsea, in Enzo Maresca and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall following promotion to the top tier.
Ipswich still had League One players having gone up immediately after promotion to the Championship. Southampton meanwhile were well-placed, but shot themselves in the foot through poor recruitment.
Gabby Agbonlahor says Southampton spent poorly during 2024-25, but Russell Martin’s desire to play the way he did also backfired. If Leeds get their spending right and are ready to defend, there is a chance.
