Reality Check: Are Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth destined to return to the Championship?

Premier League football returns on the 5th of August. On Saturday 6th, new arrivals Fulham, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest will encounter their first challenges. Below, we take a look at the harsh reality of joining the top flight of English football.

After such a successful campaign, morale will no doubt be high in the dressing rooms of the EPL newbies. However, with the quality, pace, and intensity increasing tenfold, how long will it be until that morale is dented? Read on, to find out our PL predictions and the analysis behind them. Quick spoiler - it doesn’t look all too pretty!

Nottingham Forest

It’s been 23 years since Forest featured in the top flight of English football; however, let us get straight to it - if Forest begins this season as they did in the Championship last season, they’re going down.

The first 7 games of last season saw Forest put just 1 point on the board, courtesy of an 82’ minute equaliser at Derby. Thankfully, they managed to turn things around in those latter stages, finishing 4th, and knocking out the people’s choice Huddersfield, for that final promotion spot. Unlike the Championship, there are very few second chances given to teams in the Premier League, let alone those who will be new to the pace, skill and consistency that the top tier of football provides.

According to the best UK bookmakers, the Forest squad of last year would have an incredibly tough task ahead of them. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a very busy transfer window. We have all heard about the shock addition of Lingard; however, alongside Lingard’s West Ham snub, Forest have also acquired 11 further signings and show no signs of slowing down. Rumours of Mady Camara, Emmanuel Dennis, and Alassane Plea could all help add to the depth of Forest’s squad - something they struggled with last year.

Forest kick start their return to the PL with fixtures against Newcastle, West Ham, Everton, Tottenham, and Man City. We predict a very generous maximum of 8 points to be secured; although, we could just as easily see a repeat of the 21/22 Championship season. During the closing stages of the campaign, Forest faces Brentford, Southampton, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace - a less than ideal way to end your first season back.

Final predicted position: 17th.

Bournemouth

The Cherries return to the Premier League after two solid years of Championship football. Bournemouth earned the second automatic promotion spot, thanks to 25 wins, 13 draws, 8 losses, and the fewest goals conceded across the whole of the Championship.

Although things look fairly promising on paper, Bournemouth have a lot of work to do should they plan on surpassing their previous 5-year stint amidst the best teams in England. Worryingly, Scott Parker hasn’t been overly busy in the transfer window; however, he has bolstered the middle of the park with the addition of Joe Rothwell and Gavin Kilkenny (Loan). Ryan Fredericks looks to keep the Premier League’s enchanting left-wingers in check and rumours suggest that Liverpool’s Nathaniel Phillips could be joining the team, too. Is it enough to solidify their position as a legit prem calibre team? Honestly, we aren’t so sure.

If Solanke, Billing, Lerma, Brooks, and Kelly continue to play to their potential, Bournemouth will have a fighting chance of getting points on the board against fellow teams in the relegation battle and the possibility of a few shock wins along the way, too. They also have a horrendous start to contend with, facing Aston Villa, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Wolves; hopefully, this won’t dent morale too much and they can pick themselves up through the middle of the season. To end their first stint back, the Cherries will face Leeds United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Man United, and Everton. Honestly, unless further additions are made, we suggest looking for the best football betting odds aimed at the relegation zone.

Final predicted position: 19th.  

Fulham

You don’t score 106 goals, win 27 matches, and end the year with 90 points by luck alone. In fact, it takes an incredible amount of skill, talent, commitment, and consistency to pull off such a feat in a division like the Championship.

Of the three newly promoted sides, Fulham, thanks to their their 21/22 Championship title-winning season, are presented with the best betting odds and chances of staying up. However, that doesn’t mean extra work isn’t required to make a statement upon their Premier League return. Palhinha (Sporting CP) and Pereira (Man United) have been brought in to add some serious talent to the midfield, alongside Mbabu (Wolfsburg) - a right-back who has already proven his dominance across the Bundesliga. Leno (Arsenal) and Rico (PSG) are two goalkeepers that Fulham are keeping their eyes on, too.

An opening match against Liverpool is far from the perfect start; but, following matches against Wolves, Brentford, Arsenal, and Brighton could see a healthy number of points picked up. With momentum rolling, we would expect Fulham to stay fairly consistent throughout their first season back. A tough 5 fixtures to end the season against Man City, Leicester City, Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Man United, leads us to suggest that Fulham will finish just on the wrong side of mid-table.

Final predicted position: 11th.  

Agree or disagree with our predictions? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear your thoughts!