Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has delivered his verdict on whether Leeds United will stay in the Premier League in the 2025/26 season.
The odds of newly-promoted teams retaining their Premier League status have shifted significantly in recent years, with all three sides being relegated in the last two seasons.
This year, Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland are the three sides who will look to defy the odds, with Sunderland launching an aggressive transfer spree led by the signing of Granit Xhaka.
Daniel Farke has also overseen a significant rebuild of his squad, but Leeds’ transfer spend is still less than that of the Black Cats. Now, Carragher has explained whether he thinks this will be enough to keep any of the newly-promoted teams in the Premier League.
Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty ImagesJamie Carragher backs Leeds United to survive
Speaking on the Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, Carragher delivered his verdict on Leeds’ survival hopes.
According to the former Liverpool man, Leeds have the best chance of retaining their top-flight status, and the Elland Road crowd could play a key part in this. Carragher said: “I think Leeds have got the best chance out of the teams that came up.
“I just think the atmosphere at Leeds, they’ve got to make that a fortress, make it a place where teams don’t want to go, and now you’ve asked me, I’m going to say yes, Leeds, they’re the one I think can stay up.
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“I don’t want to predict that the three promoted teams are going to go straight back down because that will depress me if that happens again, so I’m going to go for Leeds staying up.”
He added: “I think Leeds are one of those teams that maybe if you’ve got a big rivalry with them, maybe Manchester United, I think a lot of supporters up and down the country want Leeds back in the Premier League, they feel like a Premier League team, and hopefully they will stay.”
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesHow many wins do Leeds United need to stay in the Premier League?
Although the odds are stacked against the newly-promoted sides, Leeds can take comfort from the fact that in their previous relegation season three years ago, all three promoted sides stayed in the top flight.
Fans often refer to the magical 40-point mark for Premier League safety, but a recent article from the BBC showed that the modern reality is closer to 30.
In practical terms, this means that eight wins from 38 games could be enough to stay up. In the last five seasons, only Leicester City have been relegated, having won more than eight games, winning nine before being relegated with 34 points.
As Carragher stated, Leeds’ home form will be key to this, as they look to secure the first of these victories in the season opener against Everton.