It is still early days in the race to avoid relegation from the Premier League but with Burnley facing Leeds, Sunderland hosting Wolves and Brentford travelling to West Ham, this weekend could prove to be pivotal.
Nine points separate Sunderland in ninth and Wolves at the bottom of the table – but momentum can quickly shift in the top flight.
Here, Sky Sports’ writers look at why three points could be crucial for all six teams aiming to beat the drop following varied starts to the 2025/26 campaign…
Turf Moor can be the foundation Burnley build survival on
Scott Parker’s Burnley side have shown their credentials to avoid relegation from the Premier League in flashes but their game against Leeds on Saturday afternoon falls into the category of games they have to take points from.
The victory at home against Sunderland in August, which cannot be understated given how well the Black Cats have taken to their top-flight return, should act as the template. Turf Moor needs to be fortified if they are to beat the drop.
In their three home games in the league, Burnley have hosted champions Liverpool, Europa League challengers Nottingham Forest and Sunderland.
Three games, four points and, importantly, just the two goals conceded. Four of their five defeats – as well as 80 per cent of the goals they have shipped – have arrived on the road.
Beating fellow newly-promoted teams is always a key factor in survival but capitalising on the advantage of your home crowd to close the gap on Daniel Farke’s side to just one point could prove to be season defining.
Lose and they risk falling adrift of both Sunderland and the Whites, with games against Arsenal and Chelsea on the horizon.
Patrick Rowe
Optimism building at Leeds but points needed
Leeds United have shown that the team of giants assembled by Farke over the summer will be a handful for almost anyone in the Premier League after taking eight points from seven games, three of which have been against the current top four.
Those performances, particularly at Elland Road, have created a sense of optimism about their chances of survival – but already at this early stage of the season, Leeds have left what could become crucial points on the table, which is not a trend they can afford to keep up.
Gabriel Gudmundsson’s freak own goal at Fulham. Slack defending for Bournemouth’s stoppage-time equaliser. Two deflected Tottenham goals. These are not the moments Leeds fans will want to look back on come season end, thinking what might have been.
Karl Darlow fails to stop a deflected own goal by Gabriel Gudmundsson
Those small margins will in part be down to the players catching up to the quality in the Premier League – and they have done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt that those issues will not persist – but it has put a great emphasis on their games against relegation rivals.
The trip to Burnley is up next and the buoyant mood around Leeds will be maintained if they can win their third game in the Premier League – but a defeat, or even a disappointing draw, could change the narrative around their season.
Zinny Boswell
Win for Wolves could offer hope to Pereira’s side
Despite taking the lead in each of their last three Premier League games, Wolves are still waiting for their first three points of the season and sit rock bottom of the table. Defeat to Sunderland on Saturday afternoon would only add to the feeling that this will be the year they drop out.
Vitor Pereira lost some big players in the summer and the six new additions from overseas have had a mixed start to life at Molineux. While Ladislav Krejci has impressed, doubts over the quality of the squad remain and tensions are rising.
Beating Sunderland would offer hope that Wolves are on the right track, making them four unbeaten in all competitions and reducing the gap between the two teams to six points. Lose, falling 12 points adrift of their hosts, and the gloom would be hard to shift.
Adam Bate
Sunderland confidence at risk ahead of Wolves test
Sunderland’s four-game unbeaten run came to an end at Manchester United yet it still left them in the top half following a strong start to their Premier League return.
The only other blot on their record is a defeat to Burnley and one to another relegation contender in Wolves would dent their confidence heading into a tricky set of games against Chelsea, Everton and Arsenal.
Granit Xhaka, 33, has brought experience and control to Sunderland’s midfield, reinforcing the feeling that his summer acquisition was a stellar piece of business.
His influence cannot be understated in the club’s survival bid, although the early signs are that they can aim much higher than that. A win over Wolves is crucial if they are to do so.
David Richardson
Not a ‘must-win’ but West Ham need points
The ‘must-win’ tag is factually incorrect on so many levels when assessing West Ham’s home game with Brentford on Monday Night Football, but ‘season-defining’ is hard to argue with.
Lose, and the spiral gathers pace. Draw, and you are still swimming in mediocrity. Win, and West Ham might just exhale for the first time in months.
New West Ham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo looks on after his side went behind at Everton
The Hammers are winless in eight home Premier League games, a run that played a huge part in Graham Potter losing his job. It is their longest winless run since moving to the London Stadium and the place feels a world away from Upton Park in its current miserable guise.
That is why the West Ham board had no choice to change the manager. When you are knee deep in a relegation scrap, you do not need talk of “build-up principles” and “underlying numbers” – you need street-fighting survival football.
Nuno Espirito Santo, by contrast, brings exactly that. Call it what you want – reactive, pragmatic and at times boring – but it is effective when backs are against the wall. West Ham just need points.
Lewis Jones
Monday 20th October 6:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Transitional period for Brentford – but impressive feat under threat
Brentford are seven games into their fifth season in the Premier League and they have still never dropped into the relegation zone. Not once.
It is an underrated feat – and one that would have seemed impossible when the west London club were in League Two 16 years ago. But it is a feat that has come under threat already in 2025/26.
There were bound to be challenges after the summer departures of not only head coach Thomas Frank, but Christian Norgaard, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, too.
Many relegated them before a ball had been kicked, but they have beaten Man Utd and Aston Villa already and progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Then again, they have lost all three away games so far, with the 3-1 defeats to Nottingham Forest and Fulham particularly uninspiring.
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Brentford boss Keith Andrews hailed his side’s courage and determination after snatching a late draw from a long throw to deny Chelsea three points
Under Keith Andrews, they are seeing markedly less of the ball, too. They sit 19th in the Premier League rankings with an average of 38.7 per cent possession. In 2024/25, it was 47.8 per cent and in, 2023/24 it was 45 per cent.
Alarm bells are not ringing yet – this is a transitional period, after all. But home form, as ever, could prove pivotal as the Bees target a sixth season in the top flight.
Dan Long
Watch West Ham vs Brentford live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League from 6.30pm on September 20.
