Premier League half-time: Half of fans expect Arsenal to win – and Everton to get relegated
The Premier League season is a little more than halfway done, but a majority of fans already have some idea about how it’s going to turn out.
New YouGov data shows that, at the upper end of the table, Arsenal are title favourites for a majority of fans (52%). With a five-point lead and a game in hand on second-placed Manchester City at the time of writing, this shouldn’t be altogether surprising.
But a quarter of fans (24%) still think the Sky Blues will pip the Gunners to the top spot – perhaps owing to Erling Haaland’s unprecedented (and, according to some commentators, potentially team-wrecking) run of goalscoring form and the fact that City and Arsenal are yet to play each other this season.
Some 4% of fans believe that Erik Ten Hag’s new-look Manchester United will overturn an eleven-point deficit to claim the 2022/2023 trophy, while 2% believe Liverpool will bridge a gap of 21 points. Never let it be said that British football fandom is devoid of optimism.
Everton, Southampton, and Bournemouth are this year’s relegation favourites
At the other end of the table, it’s a slightly more interesting story. Just three points separate the team at the bottom of the table from that in 14th place but nevertheless, some clear favourites for relegation have emerged.
Most notably, half of fans think Everton – who recently parted ways with embattled manager Frank Lampard – are in the stickiest position of all Premier League clubs and primed to go down (51%). If it happened, it would be the club’s first relegation since 1954. Southampton are second-favourites to take the plunge, with 45% expecting the Saints to go marching down, while Bournemouth are third-favourites (37%).
These three clubs may occupy the bottom berths of the Premier League table, but this could change very easily: Bournemouth, for example, are currently tied with Wolves on 17 points, with Leicester, Leeds, and West Ham just ahead on 18. Nevertheless, fans are more likely to expect Nottingham Forest to go down (19%), despite the Midlands club being four points clear of the drop zone. Some 4% of fans go as far as to say they expect seventh-placed Fulham and 8th-placed Brentford to go down this year – even though both clubs are currently ahead of ninth-placed Liverpool and tenth-placed Chelsea.
Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 26 January 2023, with a [nationally] representative sample of 2000 adults in Great Britain (aged 18+ years), using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by gender, age, region, and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain aged 18 years or older, and reflect the latest ONS population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.