Newly promoted sides have struggled in the Premier League in recent seasons &#8211; but should Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers expect any different in 2025/26?
In each of the last two seasons, all three promoted clubs have gone straight back down to the Championship, with poor goalscoring and defensive records seeing opposition players thrive.
But will Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland do better? We take a look at the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> to give FPL fans an idea of what to expect.
<h3>🤖 Hub AI&#8217;s quick summary 🤖</h3>
Simplicity and speed are among Fantasy Football Hub&#8217;s core values, so many of our articles this season will come with a quick &#8216;Hub AI&#8217; summary for those who want the answer &#8211; fast.
Read the full article for the detailed picture &#8211; and listen to an audio summary below 👇
<ul>
<li>🔥 Leeds had the best attack but the data suggests their goal tally will drop significantly</li>
<li>😬 Sunderland and Burnley could struggle to score &#8211; and Burnley&#8217;s record-breaking defence may not be as good as it looks</li>
<li>🎯 Budget FPL defenders may be useful &#8211; but ideally keep them on the bench while monitoring how they settle</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Newly promoted teams&#8217; goal threat</h2>
No other Championship team came close to matching Leeds&#8217; 95 goals, with Joel Piroe the league&#8217;s top scorer on 19.
It was the most since Fulham&#8217;s 106 in 2021/22 but other teams scored similar in recent seasons and came straight back down. Ipswich for example managed 92 in their promotion campaign.
The Whites can&#8217;t expect to score that many in the Premier League, either. Reigning champions Liverpool scored 86 on their way to claiming the league title.
Promoted sides have seen their goal tallies drop by more than half in the last two seasons.
Only Luton maintained a similar record in the league above &#8211; but had only scored 57 in the Championship anyway.
If we assume Leeds&#8217; goals tally drops by the average, they would score about 51 times next season. This would have been the joint-seventh worst alongside Crystal Palace in 2024/25 and could give them a fighting chance of staying up.
It is certainly achievable &#8211; but Luton scored 52 and still went down, so it&#8217;s no guarantee of success.
It may be a case of waiting to see how they go before investing in them in FPL &#8211; certainly as starters for Gameweek 1.
<div id="attachment_73174" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73174" class="size-full wp-image-73174" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Piroe-Getty.jpg" alt="Joel Piroe" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Piroe-Getty.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Piroe-Getty-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Piroe-Getty-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Joel Piroe. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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<h3>Sunderland and Burnley to struggle?</h3>
Targeting defenders who play against Sunderland could be a sensible strategy.
The Black Cats&#8217; attack was well behind the other promoted sides. They scored just 58 goals &#8211; the joint-ninth best alongside 16th placed Portsmouth.
That&#8217;s a concerning stat for the playoff winners, with only Luton&#8217;s 57 lower over the last six seasons.
Regis Le Bris&#8217;s side have been busy in the transfer market but they will surely need a stronger striker to stand much chance &#8211; Wilson Isidor was their top scorer on 12.
Burnley may not be much more threatening, either.
The Clarets ranked third on 69 goals but this compares poorly with other promoted clubs historically.
Scott Parker&#8217;s side should be more defensively solid than they were last time under Vincent Kompany but as we will see below, this might not be enough.
<div id="attachment_73181" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73181" class="size-full wp-image-73181" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker.jpg" alt="Scott Parker. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="702" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker-768x527.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Burnley manager Scott Parker. Picture by Getty Images</div>
<h2>Newly promoted teams&#8217; defensive records</h2>
Burnley posted astonishing defensive numbers, conceding just 16 goals in 46 games.
They set a new league record, with 30 being the previous best &#8211; a number matched by Leeds in 2024/25.
While this is a promising sign, the data suggests they were fortunate to concede so few.
The Clarets&#8217; expected goals conceded (xGC) was 39.1 according to <a href="https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/Championship-Stats">FBref.com</a>, second best to Leeds&#8217; 29.6.
Their xGC was almost identical to their promotion season under Kompany.
Those expecting lots of clean sheets from Burnley or any of the promoted teams should lower their expectations.
Over the last two seasons, the Premier League newcomers have conceded an average of 40 more goals in the top flight.
So while there are a few budget FPL defenders to choose from the promoted clubs, it may be wise to keep them on the bench for a while to see how the new teams settle.
<h2>Stats summary: Promoted teams</h2>
<h3>Overall stats</h3>
🥇Best 2024/25 Championship attack: Leeds &#8211; 95 goals, 89.1 xG
🐐Best Championship attack since 2018/19: Fulham 2021/22 &#8211; 106 goals, 95.1 xG (finished 10th in Premier League)
🪨Best Championship defence: Burnley this season &#8211; 16 goals conceded (league record)
👏Best Championship xGC since 2018/19: Leeds 2019/20 &#8211; 37.6
<div id="attachment_52158" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-52158" class="size-full wp-image-52158" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1416639510.jpg" alt="Mitrovic injury latest for FPL managers" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1416639510.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1416639510-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1416639510-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1416639510-610x407.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic &#8211; key to their promotion several seasons ago. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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<h3>Promoted clubs: Last two seasons</h3>
🥅 Championship goals: 485
⚽ Premier League goals the following season: 223 &#8211; down 54%
💪 Championship goals conceded: 274
🤦‍♂️ Goals conceded in the Premier League: 515 &#8211; up 87%
<div id="attachment_73175" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73175" class="size-full wp-image-73175" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford.jpg" alt="James Trafford - Burnley's goalkeeper during their promotion campaign. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />James Trafford &#8211; Burnley&#8217;s goalkeeper during their promotion campaign. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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