With the Premier League well underway, there have been many surprising games, players, and teams that have unfolded throughout the season. However, no one could have expected the positions that the newly promoted teams, Burnley, Leeds, and Sunderland, are in. Common knowledge among Premier League fans is that newly promoted teams often go straight back down, and this year that was certainly the expectation for these three teams. However, unlike popular expectations, these newly promoted teams have been incredibly competitive, and if the season ended today, they would all be safe from relegation. But will it stay this way?

Current Premier League Standings (10/27/2025)

1. Arsenal
2. Bournemouth
3. Tottenham
4. Sunderland
5. Man City
6. Man United
7. Liverpool
8. Aston Villa
9. Chelsea
10. Crystal Palace
11. Brentford
12. Newcastle
13. Brighton
14. Everton
15. Leeds United
16. Burnley
17. Fulham
18. Nottingham Forest
19. West Ham
20. Wolves

Sunderland

Arguably the most surprising team out of these three so far, Sunderland has been dominant thus far. After earning promotion through the Championship playoffs, few expected them to be competitive and most assumed they would be a bottom side this year. However, this has definitely not been the case. As of (10/27/2025), they have won 5, lost 2, and drawn 2. While they haven’t played the hardest schedule so far, they just pulled off a surprising victory against Chelsea. This argument could be tested soon, as Sunderland will face the top two teams in the Premier League in their next four matchups, so we’ll see if Sunderland’s incredible start to the year can continue.

Leeds United

My personal favorite team, Leeds United, hasn’t been great, but they also haven’t been terrible. Coming into the season, Leeds was thought to be pretty much in the same position they are in now, bottom table but not quite bottom three. As a Leeds fan, I haven’t been disappointed in Leeds this year, and I actually think they are in a great spot to stay in the Premier League next year. While Leeds, similar to Burnley, has a -5 goal differential, their schedule has been harder at this point than the other two promoted teams, with matches against teams like Arsenal (1), Bournemouth (2), and Tottenham (3). Leeds has played against the current top three in the Premier League already in their first nine games, which is by far the hardest of the three promoted sides. They have also been competitive in two of those three games, drawing Bournemouth and only losing to Tottenham by one, while winning the possession battle and having more shots and shots on target than the Spurs. Overall, Leeds has been decent, and I think they have a very good chance of staying in the Premier League at the end of the year.

Burnley

Arguably the weakest of the three newly promoted teams, Burnley hasn’t been great this year, but they have been good enough to stay above the bottom three. Burnley, a team that in the Championship was known for having a dominant defense, has found that strength to be missing this year in the Premier League. They currently have a -5 goal differential through nine games, which is tied for the fourth-worst in the league. Burnley was widely regarded in the preseason to finish 20th, or bottom of the Premier League. While those predictions aren’t accurate right now, I could definitely see them coming true, as Burnley, in my opinion, is still a bottom-three side. All three of Burnley’s wins have come against teams that are regarded as the weakest, with wins over the other two promoted teams, Leeds and Sunderland, and a win against Wolverhampton, which is by far the worst team in the Premier League this year.

What do I think will happen?

While I would love to see all of these teams stay in the Premier League next year, I simply don’t think that it will happen. Overall, I still think that all three teams will remain competitive, but I don’t think any of them will stay in the current position that they are in. I think that we will see Burnley drop into the bottom three, Leeds fall to around the 17th spot, narrowly avoiding relegation with Sunderland dropping to around 14th or 15th. So, I do think that all three teams will remain competitive; however, I don’t see a world where all three stay up. I think Burnley is by far the weakest of the three, I think Leeds isn’t the best but better than Burnley, Wolves, and West Ham, and I think that Sunderland made some quality signings during the summer to put them in a position to compete at the Premier League level.

Next five fixture predictions

With that in mind, the next stretch of fixtures will be crucial in determining whether these clubs can maintain their early momentum or begin to slide toward the bottom of the table. We will find out a lot of valuable information about the newly promoted teams after their next five games, so let’s look into those and make some predictions.

Sunderland

Everton: Win = 3 points
Arsenal: Loss = 0 points
@ Fulham: Draw = 1 point
Bournemouth: Loss = 0 points
@ Liverpool: Loss = 0 points

Total points = 4

Leeds

@ Brighton: Loss = 0 points
@ Nottingham Forest: Win = 3 points
Aston Villa: Loss = 0 points
@ Manchester City: Loss = 0 points
Chelsea: Loss = 0 points

Total points = 3

Burnley

Arsenal: Loss = 0 points
@ West Ham: Draw = 1 point
Chelsea: Loss = 0 points
@ Brentford: Loss = 0 points
Crystal Palace: Draw = 1 point

Total points = 2

After these next five games, I think that Leeds will score three, Sunderland four, and Burnley a total of two points. This would keep the current order of these three teams in the standings the same, with Sunderland first, Leeds second, and Burnley last among the group. Overall, the Premier League has been great this year, with many surprises occurring across the league, it has been fascinating to follow and watch. Nobody who has been following the Premier League and the EFL Championship over the past couple of years could’ve expected the current standings to look the way they do now. From Sunderland , a team that wasn’t even automatically promoted who is now sitting in the top five, to Burnley, who many thought were guaranteed for relegation to currently staying above the relegation line, the Premier League has been crazy. This parity has been a great breath of fresh air from the traditional storylines of newly promoted teams being easy wins and obvious relegation sides. I hope these teams can keep up their success and survive in the Premier League for another year.