A Shake Up at the Top - Why Are European Giants At Risk of Relegation?

Why Are So Many Big Sides Battling the Drop?

This season has been a strange one – title defences, such as Liverpool’s, veered catastrophically off course; PSG are facing off against unexpected competition for the Ligue 1 title from Lens, of all teams; and in Italy, minnows Como are elbowing their way to the top table as they sit on the brink of Europe for the first time in their history.

However, the strangest trend to come from this season has nothing to do with the top end of the table and, in fact, is orientated around the bottom of it instead. Why are so many of Europe’s big teams suddenly looking nailed on for relegation?

In England, Tottenham sit 18th, two points adrift of West Ham. The story is very much the same in Germany, where Wolfsburg lie a point away from the relegation play-off spot, a place which gives any side a second chance at staying up by playing the play-off-earning side from the league below.

Tottenham have more players with ACL injuries this season (3) than Premier League home wins (2) 😳 pic.twitter.com/qPiTijrmF3

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 27, 2026

In Spain, Sevilla are floundering – Europa League winners of just three years ago, they also sit 18th, with Mallorca positioned a perilous one point ahead of them. Finally, in France, it is Nice who pose as the fallen giants, and though significantly better off than the aforementioned teams, a gap of five points to the drop zone really isn’t as much as it sounds.

Where have these poor campaigns come from? Granted, thanks to the endless coverage courtesy of the English media, we saw Tottenham's fall coming from a mile off, but the other three fallen giants gave very little warning of the drop-off that was to occur this season.

Downward Spiral

In Sevilla, the signs have been growing slowly more ominous. After three consecutive top-four finishes between 2020 and 2022, Los Nervionenses have slowly but surely fallen down the pecking order in La Liga, with finishes of 12th, 14th and then 17th last season illustrating a clear trend of deterioration.

The battle to avoid relegation from La Liga continues to excite.

Sevilla conceded twice late on against Osasuna to let a 1-0 lead slip - their 2-1 defeat means they remain in the drop zone.

Six points separate Levante in 19th and Elche in 13th, with all three relegation places… pic.twitter.com/9F8bcv7NGd

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) April 26, 2026

Though they flirted with relegation last season, there was never any genuine fear that they would go down, and they did eventually secure safety, with fans expecting them to bounce back up the table after a summer of recruitment.

However, instead they have got even worse, and with just five games of the season remaining, a Sevilla side complete with Alexis Sánchez, Adnan Januzaj and César Azpilicueta must now outscore Mallorca on points if they are to survive.

Next, we have Nice, another club in the Ineos umbrella of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a notoriously divisive figure in the stands at Manchester United’s Old Trafford. In years gone by, the French club has been a serial top-five challenger and has given the likes of PSG and Monaco some serious runs for their endless money.

With similar issues affecting the black and red outfit to their England-based cousins, the running of the club has seen Nice fall into darkness, and now they sit just five points ahead of 6th-placed Auxerre.

17th and 18th are automatically relegated, while similarly to the Bundesliga, 16th place enters into a play-off. With three games to go, it is mathematically impossible for Nice to suffer automatic relegation. However, should they somehow be lured into the play-offs, their potential absence will be the only talking point in French football until the beginning of the World Cup.

Wolfsburg represents the German contingent in the fallen giants conversation. Bundesliga champions as recently as 2009, it has been an ignominious fall from grace for Die Wolfe, who, thanks to some shocking form at their home ground, the Volkswagen Arena, this term, now find themselves in 17th, a point away from the relegation play-off spot and six behind guaranteed safety.

They are in so deep that in January, they attempted to bring back club legend Edin Dzeko, who has recently turned 40. To have to be relying on ageing former players and nostalgia boosts in a bid to stay just highlights the problems for Wolfsburg, who, after 30 consecutive years in the top flight, could be about to see that trend come to an end.

➟ He endured the Sarajevo war as a child.
➟ He refused to play for the Czech Republic.
➟ He chose to represent Bosnia.
➟ He won the only Bundesliga title in Wolfsburg's history.
➟ He won the first Premier League title in Manchester City's history.
➟ He qualified… pic.twitter.com/2zttDEm5qt

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) April 4, 2026

Then of course, we have Tottenham, who need no introduction or much discussion. Their fall-off has been publicised in the extreme, with a mixture of former ownership, poor choices of managers and even poorer transfer business cited as the main contributors to this immensely troubling season.

With their last-gasp win against already relegated Wolves at the weekend, Spurs provided some cautious signs for optimism, but with the club still two points into the relegation zone, there is no time to get carried away – they must take every game as it comes, as looking too far ahead would see dwindling mental resources stretched to breaking point.

Each of these struggling sides is experiencing entirely individual problems, and no two scenarios are the same. The fact that four of Europe’s biggest clubs could potentially be playing second division football next year is simply a remarkable coincidence and one that would spell the end of an era.

However, it would also open the door for some new protagonists – unknown quantities eager to prove they belong at the top table at the expense of others, keeping the ever-revolving door of European football operating at full capacity.

It will go down as an almighty shock if even one of these giants waves goodbye to top-flight football, but the fact is that their potential drop down the leagues can only be good for the game. It is simply a part of the football ‘circle of life'.