Exclusive: Lee Hendrie makes Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Southampton promotion claim | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie gave his take on whether he expects Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town to battle it out at the top of the Championship in 25/26.

Lee Hendrie expects last season's promoted trio of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton to be fighting back at the top of the Championship next season if their relegation from the Premier League is confirmed.

For the second consecutive year, it seems highly likely that all three teams promoted from the Championship will be relegated after just one season in the Premier League.

As it stands, Southampton sit bottom of the table with a meagre nine points, while the Foxes and the Tractor Boys have 17 points each, leaving them well adrift of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th place.

It has been a truly dismal season for all three sides, and the gap between the top flight and the second tier only seems to be widening. This will send a real warning to the likes of Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley, all of whom have aspirations of a return to the top flight.

For the aforementioned trio, barring a miracle, it will be relegation, but going back down to a division where they are likely to be flying high may just appease supporters.

Lee Hendrie makes Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton prediction

Speaking exclusively to Football League World about the struggling trio, Lee Hendrie admitted he expects them to return to the EFL next season.

"It looks like the likes of Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton will be back in the Championship," said Hendrie.

"Teams coming up to the Premier League and dropping back down to the Championship seem to be a routine occurrence of late due to the step-up in class.

"Will they be fighting for promotion next year? Yes, all three of them - I think so.

"With the way things have been, we have seen a bounce factor when clubs drop back into the Championship from the Premier League because most of these sides going up are the ones with higher budgets, better quality players, and bigger squads.

"It isn't easy, but for any team coming into the Championship from the Premier League, you have to look at the net spends they have in transfer windows. Yes, they will lose a few players, but you always feel they will be stronger than most Championship sides or those coming up from League One.

"All three of them will be favourites to go straight back up."

Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton supporters will have an expectation in the Championship

Fighting at the top of the second tier isn't a foregone conclusion for these three clubs, but given the quality of players they have, it is hard to see them finishing outside the play-off places at the very least.

Arguably, the Saints will have the most difficult time dropping down, with some of their better players like Kyle Walker-Peters and Tyler Dibling likely to move on in the summer.

However, the other duo will both share promotion aspirations should they be relegated. Just four years ago, Leicester lifted the FA Cup, while Ipswich invested heavily in the summer, with a net spend of £107.6 million - the second-largest figure in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, based on the evidence before us, it now appears that football is becoming an increasingly money-driven game. Breaking into the top flight and securing your status is becoming exponentially harder, and stories of famous Premier League title wins, such as Leicester’s in 2015-16, now seem almost impossible.