Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher certain on two of three sides to be relegated
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher don’t always agree on things, but the punditry duo are united in their predictions for the majority of the Premier League drop zone this season.
The Premier League gets underway this weekend following a busy summer in the transfer window, which has seen the Big Six strengthen their squads. But some of the 20 teams have been much quieter and could be staring down the barrel of a difficult start to the campaign.
As ever, the three sides promoted from the Championship – Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton – will face an uphill battle to avoid the trap door. And those teams who only narrowly stayed out of trouble in the 2022/23 campaign will also be looking over their shoulders.
Chatting about the relegation picture on The Overlap, Carragher and Neville were sure of two selections. Carragher kicked off with: “Sheffield United and I would say Luton.” Neville quickly agreed, adding: “I would too.”
The Blades came up second in the Championship, but have lost star player Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille and are facing transfer interest in midfielder Sander Berge. Luton came up via the play-offs, beating Coventry at Wembley, and are the bookies’ favourites for relegation.
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The two Sky Sports pundits were less certain about the third relegated side. Carragher said Wolves “could have a problem” due the uncertainty around their manager, following the departure of Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the season, as well as their player sales.
“You think of the players they've lost,” he said. “[Raul] Jimenez to Fulham, [Ruben] Neves to Saudi, [Joao] Moutinho, [Nathan] Collins to Brentford. They're not bringing players in and I think there will be a massive disconnect behind the scenes. I think Wolves could go down.”
Julen Lopetegui has left Wolves on the eve of the season (PA)Neville, however, believes that Wolves’ owners, Fosun Group, will be OK because of the influence of super agent Jorge Mendes. “I think the Wolves ownership are connected to the right agents and might get players in on loan,” he said. “They'll get the right players in at the end of the window somehow. To add to Luton and Sheffield United, I'll go with Bournemouth.”
Luton kick off their season away to Brighton on Saturday while Sheffield United host Crystal Palace and Wolves, who are set to be taken over by Gary O’Neil, travel to Manchester United on Monday and Bournemouth host West Ham.
Wolves parted company with Lopetegui by mutual consent after a breakdown in relationships behind the scenes. The club said in a statement: "Talks have been ongoing in recent weeks, held with the utmost respect and cordiality, affording the club time and space to begin work on finding a successor, while also ensuring that Julen and his backroom staff could continue their planned preparation to ensure the playing squad would be in the best possible condition for the start of the Premier League season."
Relegation predictions
Carragher: Luton, Sheffield United, Wolves
Neville: Luton, Sheffield United, Bournemouth
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