The relegated teams appear well placed, Hull are back with a bounce but outlook is bleak for Blackburn, Reading and Derby
Last season two relegated teams shot straight back up to the Premier League and it is difficult to envisage Fulham, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion not being in the mix in May. Fulham’s squad, led by Marco Silva, is arguably the strongest – Aleksandar Mitrovic equates to a cheat code (he has scored 38 goals in his past 57 appearances in this division) and the gifted Harry Wilson is an outstanding performer at this level – but their former manager Slavisa Jokanovic, now at Bramall Lane, is one of the best coaches to have graced the division in recent history.