Eight games into the 2026-27 Championship, the bottom of the table has an unknown appearance. None of the three promoted League One clubs, Lincoln City, Bolton Wanderers and Cardiff City, are in the bottom three. Before reading too much The possibility of relegating the championshiplook who’s there: the clubs that finished last season without problems or were relegated from the Premier League. These are five sides whose beginnings no one would have guessed.
“Burnley” dropped from the Premier League with 22 points in April along with “Wolverhampton Wanderers” and “West Ham United”. These two are fourth and second in the Championship.
Burnley are bottom and the only club without a win in the league, with four draws and four defeats under Nicky Hayen, who was appointed on July 10. They conceded a league-high 17 goals, including a 4-1 defeat at Norwich City. After a 1-1 draw at home to Derby County on September 19, a game he described as a must-win, Hayen said he did not know if he would still be manager after the international break.
Derby finished the 2025–26 season eighth under John Eustace with 69 points. They have one league win this season, 2-0 at Portsmouth on September 1, and five defeats, including at home to Swansea City and 3-0 away at West Ham. Derby is 22nd with 5 points. They needed a late Mohamed Fuseini equalizer to draw 1-1 with bottom club Burnley. Coach Eustace, who led them to eighth place, is still in charge, making it the toughest descent into the bottom three to explain.
Preston were 14th last season with 60 points. Six defeats in his first seven league games cost Paul Heckingbottom his job on September 13. Their only win came at home to Blackburn Rovers, with Callum Lang scoring twice. Preston are in 23rd place with 4 points and level with Burnley. On 28 September, they appointed former right-back Graeme Alexander from League One leaders Bradford City. His first game will be at home to Millwall on October 10.
Norwich finished the 2025-26 season in ninth place with 65 points, just shy of the play-offs. Under Philippe Clement, they are still unbeaten in the league, with three wins and five defeats. Their defense is the issue. Norwich conceded 17 goals, drew with Burnley and lost 4-3 at Middlesbrough before losing 4-3 at home to newly promoted Bolton on 20 September. They are in 17th place and four points ahead of the bottom three.
Sheffield United were 13th last season and currently sit 18th under Chris Wilder with 9 points and are also four away from the relegation zone. In the summer, they sold Gustavo Hamer to Coventry City, Callum O’Hare to Wrexham and signed Calvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City. Two wins from eight league games is a slow turnaround for a club in the Premier League in 2023-24. The 3-1 defeat at home to Norwich on 5 September was the worst ever.