Can any of the winless promoted sides avoid immediate return to Championship?
Southampton’s 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Monday night has left all three promoted clubs without a win after six rounds of Premier League matches.
The Saints have picked up just one point, while Leicester have managed three draws and Ipswich four.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what has happened so far and what the prospects are for avoiding a repeat of last season when all three promoted clubs went straight back down.
Sorry Saints leave Martin hurt
Southampton manager Russell Martin accused his players of lacking fight, aggression and courage following a “ridiculous” first-half performance in the defeat to Bournemouth, who were coasting at the break after goals from Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo.
Second-bottom Saints went close to picking up a first league on September 21 but Sam Morsy’s deflected stoppage-time equaliser earned Ipswich a 1-1 draw.
While upcoming away games to title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City are unlikely to offer much hope, home fixtures against Leicester and then Everton should present opportunities to get more points on the board.
If Saints start to slip into a downward spiral, though, Martin can expect his position to come under the spotlight – with last season’s play-off final success at Wembley only buying him so much time to put things right.
Foxes lacking finishing touches
Leicester sit out of the bottom three only on goal difference, with three draws and three defeats. Those statistics, though, do not paint the whole picture.
Steve Cooper’s men produced a brilliant second-half comeback to draw level at 2-2 with Arsenal on Saturday, only to see those endeavours prove fruitless after the Gunners struck twice in added time to keep pace at the top of the table.
Leicester also came from behind to draw 1-1 against Everton last month – and were moments away from winning 2-1 at Crystal Palace before Jean-Philippe Mateta tucked away a stoppage-time penalty to snatch a point.
Much like Saints, the games against teams around them will be key – notably a trip to St Mary’s after the international break – and if Leicester come through them unscathed, there looks enough depth in the squad to push on clear of the survival battle, spearheaded by the goals of evergreen Jamie Vardy.
Tractor Boys digging in
Ipswich were given a rude awakening on their return to the top flight after 22 years with defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City, but there have been some positives for Town fans to cling onto in recent weeks.
Since crashing out of the Carabao Cup to Sky Bet League Two AFC Wimbledon on penalties on August 28, they have gone four league games unbeaten – although not winning any.
A gritty goalless draw at Brighton was followed up by a late point at Southampton, and there was plenty of fighting spirit from Kieran McKenna’s side as they held Aston Villa to a 2-2 draw at Portman Road on Sunday, when Liam Delap struck in each half after the visitors came from behind to lead at the break.
Town boss McKenna feels there is plenty more to come from his squad, who are heading into a run of games from which they could start to pick up a few more points. They visit West Ham on Saturday and face Everton, Brentford and Leicester after the international break.
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