Relegation in the Premier League
The Premier League is the leading footballing division in world football. It’s the English top-flight and every team in England dreams of making it to the promised land and ultimately establishing themselves as a Premier League outfit. However, seasons in the Premier League don’t always end the way some teams plan or want because of relegation.
The Premier League consists of twenty teams, and while there’s always a lot of focus on what’s happening at the top end of the division, such as with the title race and the battle for the top four, the other end of the league is just as important. Staying in the Premier League is a must for every team, and it’s the sole aim for some. But, if a club finds itself in the bottom three at the end of the season – 18th, 19th or 20th, they will sadly be relegated from the top-flight and drop into the Championship.
How many teams are relegated from the Premier League?
The Premier League’s inaugural season was the 1992/93 campaign, and it was always the aim for the division to be made up of twenty teams. However, at the beginning of the Premier League era, twenty-two teams were competing. The first two campaigns saw three teams relegated each season, but to make the league a twenty-team competition moving forward, at the end of the 1994/95 campaign, four teams were relegated, and just two were promoted from the second tier. Since then, three clubs have been relegated at the end of each Premier League season.
History of Premier League relegation
As mentioned above, the plan when the Premier League was formed was for the division to be the top twenty teams in England competing, so while a trio of teams were relegated in 1992/93 and 1993/94, four were relegated in 1994/95 and only two promoted to make that so.
Most seasons, it’s the newly promoted teams that are the favourites to be relegated at the end of the season, according to football odds. But it doesn’t always end up being the case, and there have been some shock relegations over the years, such as when Leicester City were relegated last season (2022/23). West Ham being relegated in 2002/03 came as a massive shock to the football world, too, because they’d finished seventh the season before and had a squad loaded with quality players, such as Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Paulo Di Canio and Jermain Defoe.
Premier League relegated teams from 1992/93 to 1994/95
List of teams relegated from Premier League in 1992/93, 1993/94 and 1994/95.
| Season | Teams Relegated |
| 1992/93 | Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest |
| 1993/94 | Sheffield United, Oldham, Swindon |
| 1994/95 | Crystal Palace, Norwich, Leicester, Ipswich |
Premier League relegated teams from 1995/96 to 2022/23
List of teams relegated from Premier League between 1995/96 and 2022/23.
| Season | Teams Relegated |
| 1995/96 | Manchester City, QPR, Bolton |
| 1996/97 | Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest |
| 1997/98 | Bolton, Barnsley, Crystal Palace |
| 1998/99 | Charlton, Blackburn, Nottingham Forest |
| 1999/00 | Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford |
| 2000/01 | Manchester City, Coventry, Bradford |
| 2001/02 | Ipswich, Derby, Leicester |
| 2002/03 | West Ham, WBA, Sunderland |
| 2003/04 | Leicester, Leeds, Wolves |
| 2004/05 | Crystal Palace, Norwich, Southampton |
| 2005/06 | Birmingham, WBA, Sunderland |
| 2006/07 | Sheffield United, Charlton, Watford |
| 2007/08 | Reading, Birmingham, Derby |
| 2008/09 | Newcastle, Middlesbrough, WBA |
| 2009/10 | Burnley, Hull, Portsmouth |
| 2010/11 | Birmingham, Blackpool, West Ham |
| 2011/12 | Bolton, Blackburn, Wolves |
| 2012/13 | Wigan, Reading, QPR |
| 2013/14 | Norwich, Fulham, Cardiff |
| 2014/15 | Hull, Burnley, QPR |
| 2015/16 | Aston Villa, Norwich, Newcastle |
| 2016/17 | Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hull |
| 2017/18 | Swansea, Stoke, WBA |
| 2018/19 | Cardiff, Fulham, Huddersfield |
| 2019/20 | Bournemouth, Watford, Norwich |
| 2020/21 | Fulham, WBA, Sheffield United |
| 2021/22 | Burnley, Watford, Norwich |
| 2022/23 | Southampton, Leeds, Leicester |
Teams relegated the most in Premier League history
The team that has been relegated the most in Premier League history is Norwich City (6), which is potentially one of the reasons why when they have been promoted in recent times, they have been one of the favourites to be relegated where the Premier League odds for the drop are concerned. But it’s also worth pointing out that they are also one of the favourites in EFL championship betting markets for promotion to the top flight usually, too. West Brom have been relegated nearly as many times as Norwich, having dropped to the second tier on five occasions.
There are four clubs that have tasted the disappointment of relegation from the Premier League on four occasions they are Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Leicester City. Crystal Palace are currently plying their trade in the top flight, whereas Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Leicester are battling to be promoted from the Championship this season.
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