Premier League 2019/20: 3 early favourites for relegation

#2 Sheffield United

Do Sheffield United rely too much on veteran striker Billy Sharp?

It’s never easy for a promoted team to thrive in the Premier League, and most of the time it’s tricky for the sides who come up from the Championship to even survive, such is the gulf in class between the two competitions.

Last season saw two promoted sides – Fulham and Cardiff – go straight back down, and in 2019/20, it’s Sheffield United – who finished second in the Championship – who I can see struggling rather than fellow newcomers Aston Villa and Norwich City.

Why’s this? There’s a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s notable that of the clubs at the top of the Championship, it was the Blades who claimed promotion with the meanest defence in the league, as they conceded just 41 goals in their 46 games, an impressive feat indeed.

Historically though, sides who succeed in the Championship primarily due to their defence rather than attack don’t do as well in the Premier League; Cardiff, for instance, conceded just 39 in their promotion season only to leak 69 in the Premier League – simply put, Premier League teams punish mistakes far more ruthlessly than Championship ones do.

Then there’s the fact that their top striker Billy Sharp – who plundered 24 goals in the Championship last season, a tremendous return – is already 33 and is completely unproven at the Premier League level. True, Sharp could surprise people, but prior to last season, he hadn’t really been a reliable source of goals in the Championship either.

Chris Wilder is clearly an excellent boss – the job he did at Northampton Town prior to his move to United proved that – and he’s worked wonders at the Blades, but with no proven Premier League-level signings to date, the only conclusion is that United are likely to struggle in 2019/20.