After seasons of disappointment for promoted sides, Sunderland and Leeds United bucked the trend of immediate relegation by having successful seasons and staying in the Premier League. Burnley were sent straight back down, but can the trio of Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City stave it off this time around?
Coventry City
Under the management of Frank Lampard, the Sky Blues were the best team in the Championship last season. Racking up the most wins, the most goals and the fewest defeats, they were in a one-horse race for the title, wrapping it up early and finishing 11 points clear of Ipswich Town in second place.
It completed a long overdue return for Coventry to the top flight. Relegated from the then-called Premiership in 2001, they would fall all the way down to the fourth tier of English football due to financial issues, before roaring back up the Football League, culminating in their Championship title win last season.
Lampard took over from the much-loved Mark Robins in 2024 and helped them into the play-offs before they succeeded in making it back to the Premier League.
Last year, the former Chelsea and Everton boss played a rudimentary 4-2-3-1 system, leaning heavily on attacking football to outscore opponents. Haji Wright was influential up front, scoring 17 goals in the promotion campaign, whilst Milan van Ewijk was their top assister with eight from right-back, showing how valuable width is to Lampard's system.
During pre-season it became evident they are unlikely to shy away from this approach, with wins over Monaco and Espanyol.
This, though, does come with its own risks. Adapting to life in the Premier League when you were once a top dog in the Championship has proven the downfall of many teams over the years - it will be interesting to see whether Lampard's side can find their feet without changing their tactics.
One player who could help them avoid the drop is club record signing Caleb Yirenkyi. The Ghana international, who featured at the World Cup, signed for 27.8 million euros from Danish side Nordsjaelland and is a combative central midfielder who can also play at the back. Breaking up play and allowing Coventry's frontline to attack quickly will be vital to creating chances, something Yirenkyi can do well.
It was the fourth time Coventry have broken their transfer record over the summer, potentially following the path of Nottingham Forest to survival - spend big, and hope you can reap the rewards in the short term to guarantee financial security. The flipside of that is relegation back to the Championship can pave the way for disaster, as we have seen with Leicester City in recent times.
Lampard is in new territory as a coach, as much of his playing squad is, and staying up will be Coventry's first task. It could be a step too far for his adaptability as a coach, and it will be a tough job to keep his team afloat in the choppy waters of the Premier League.
Transfers in
Frank Onyeka (Brentford - Coventry, £6.5m)
Loum Tchaouna (Burnley - Coventry, £20m)
Aurele Amenda (Eintracht Frankfurt - Coventry, £17m)
Carl Rushworth (Brighton - Coventry, £22m)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Nordsjaelland - Coventry, £23.1m)
Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United - Coventry, £6m)
Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest - Coventry, £9m)
Hull City
Hull City's manager Sergej Jakirovic stood in front of an amassed crowd of Tigers' fans and stated that he had failed. He had promised to keep them in the Championship during his first year as manager, and he had not achieved that - he had provided the club with a miracle, promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.
They claimed the final promotion spot after a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Wembley - a game overshadowed by 'Spygate', which saw Southampton stripped of their play-off final spot in favour of Boro. As unlikely as their promotion was, it has given them the financial clout to give this season a good go.
Jakirovic has had a long and winding road to the top table of English football. A Croatian international's management career had been mostly situated in the Balkans before heading to the North East, and despite his lack of reputation, he was tactically astute enough to lead his team to glory.
Switching between a back three and a back four for much of the season, his side did concede a goal in the play-offs, whilst they showed grit across 46 games to finish sixth.
It is expected that style will be seen again in the Premier League, with the Tigers likely to scrap for every point if they are to achieve safety.
They have had an interesting summer off the pitch too. Chairman Acun Ilicali made the unprecedented decision of sharing transfer news with cryptic posts on X, showing the probability of signings based on percentages and flags.
Like Coventry, they have spent to accumulate. Their biggest outlay was for defender Nobel Mendy. They paid around 23 million pounds for the Rayo Vallecano player in an effort to shore up a defence that conceded 66 goals in 46 games last season.
But their shrewdest piece of business could be the two million pounds they have spent on Sweden's Elliot Stroud. He made his national side's team for the World Cup, and was part of Mjallby's title win last season. The left-sided midfielder scored nine goals in 28 games, whilst his form continued into the 2026 season.
Expectations will be low for Hull City - even their own fans won't be expecting much. Just making it back to the Premier League was an incredible success, and the financial success of that will be felt even if they are relegated at the first time of asking. For Hull City, relegation feels a certainty, but Jakirovic has proven to be a pragmatic coach who can get the best out of a squad - will this be a step too far for the Tigers?
Transfers in
Jack Butland (Rangers - Hull City, £3m)
Oscar Zambrano (Maribor - Hull City, undisclosed)
Matt Targett (Newcastle United - Hull City, free agent)
Morita Hidesama (Sporting CP - Hull City, free agent)
Konstantinos Tzolakis (Olympiacos - Hull City, £20m)
Jens Hjerto-Dahl (Tromso - Hull City, £9m)
Elliot Stroud (Mjallby - Hull City, £2.2m)
Nobel Mendy (Rayo Vallecano - Hull City, £23m)
Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids - Hull City, £16m)
Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United - Hull City, £7.5m)
Lucas Gourna-Douath (RB Salzburg - Hull City, £3.75m)
Ipswich Town
The Tractor Boys are starting to become the definition of a 'yo-yo club'. Relegated in the 2024/25 season, but with instant promotion back again, they are back again for another crack at the big time.
They have had a summer of upheaval, however, losing their former manager, Kieran McKenna, who decided to take a break from management. Ipswich moved fast to bring in Gary O'Neil after his short stint in France with Strasbourg, and he also has experience fighting at the bottom of the Premier League after his time with Wolves.
How he will set his new side up is the biggest question heading into the weekend's curtain-raiser. O'Neil has seen this all before and will likely opt for a compact system that prides itself on discipline as well as speed on the counter.
His summer signings suggest that this will be the case. He has brought in Abdoul Ouattara from his former side, Strasbourg, to provide cover in defence and midfield, whilst Julio Enciso, who has spent time on loan at Portman Road in the past, has also been signed from the Ligue 1 side in an attempt to boost the side's creativity.
Plenty of their incomings have played in the Premier League before, and the most important may be Sasa Lukic. Brought in from Fulham for under 10 million pounds, he was a valuable part of the Cottagers' midfield and will, like Ouattara, provide a defensive boost.
Of the three sides that have been promoted, Ipswich feel the most enigmatic. With O'Neil unproven at Portman Road, and with new signings trying to bed in, they do not have the same continuity as Coventry City or Hull City. Their business suggests a game plan that fits the principles of the English manager, and of the three sides, they have the best chance of surviving the Premier League this season.
Transfers in
Cedric Kipre (Reims - Ipswich Town, £4m)
Chuba Akpom (Ajax - Ipswich Town, £9m)
Emersonn (Toulouse - Ipswich Town, £26m)
Issahaku Fatawu (Leicester City - Ipswich Town, £20m)
Kayne van Oevelen (Volendam - Ipswich Town, £3.5m)
Issa Diop (Fulham - Ipswich Town, £9m)
Daizen Maeda (Celtic - Ipswich Town, £11m)
Kjell Sherpen (Royale Union SG - Ipswich Town, £9.5m)
Florentino (Burnley - Ipswich Town, £17.5m)
Sasa Lukic (Fulham - Ipswich Town, £8.5m)
Abdoul Ouattara (Strasbourg - Ipswich Town, £25m)
Julio Enciso (Strasbourg - Ipswich Town, £30m)