Premier League Odds to Finish Bottom - Hull City Facing Growing Concerns

With a majority of the discussions centered around which teams will win the Premier League this season, it's also interesting to look at the other end of the table and which clubs are expected to finish bottom.

The stakes are particularly high for teams near the relegation zone. The three clubs that finish 18th, 19th and 20th are relegated from the Premier League to the EFL Championship for the following season, making a bottom three finish especially consequential.

When looking at the market to finish last in the Premier League, Bet365 currently considers Hull City the most likely team to end the season at the bottom. Hull are currently priced at +100, giving them an implied probability of 50%.

Coventry City and Ipswich Town are also among the leading candidates to finish last, with both priced at an implied probability of 23.1%.

Last year's EFL promotion for Hull City came as a surprise to most. Hull entered the Championship season with low expectations after narrowly avoiding relegation the previous year. Despite that, the club managed to finish sixth before winning the playoffs and securing promotion to the Premier League.

Coming into this year's Premier League season, Hull have spent heavily on strengthening their squad, with 11 new signings, including Hidemasa Morita and Nobel Mendy. While those additions will likely improve the team on paper, a significant turnover also creates uncertainty over how quickly the squad will settle and develop.

Hull's defense also plays a big role in their current odds. They conceded 66 goals last season, while their underlying performances were similarly concerning, ranking second-last in the Championship for expected points. New arrivals are expected to address some of these weaknesses, but it remains unclear whether Hull have done enough to solve these shortcomings.

Confidence in the defense has also taken another hit, with new goalkeeper Jack Butland starting the season on the sidelines following a pre-season injury.

Although Coventry and Ipswich are expected to be involved in the relegation battle, both enter the season with slightly more optimism. Coventry earned promotion with considerably more momentum, while Ipswich have added Premier League experience and appointed Gary O'Neil. Hull, meanwhile, are managed by Sergej Jakirovic, who has yet to manage in the Premier League. 

Unlike Hull, Coventry and Ipswich, Sunderland are not expected to be likely candidates to finish in at the very bottom. The club earned a seventh place finish last season, one of the strongest campaigns ever produced by a newly promoted Premier League club, even earning them a place in the Europa League.

However, their success does come with some concerns heading into this season. Sunderland will also face a busier schedule this season after qualifying for the Europa League. In addition to their normal Premier League matches, they will have to play several games against clubs from across Europe, putting more pressure on the depth of their squad.

The club has also been less aggressive in the transfer market this summer. Sunderland spent more than £200 million strengthening the team ahead of their return to the Premier League last year, while this summer has involved fewer additions.

The club has retained important players like Granit Xhaka and recently strengthened their squad, signing Dayann Methalie and Thomas Meunier. These new additions have only helped increase confidence in Sunderland, compared to the other newly promoted teams.

Despite it all, a difficult start to the season in addition to the demands of Europa League could drag Sunderland closer to the relegation battle than markets currently expect. At +2000 to finish last, Bet365 gives Sunderland only a 4.8% implied probability of ending the season at the bottom, suggesting that while another relegation can't be completely ruled out, market expectations remain far more positive than they are for Hull City, Conventry, and Ipswich.