Promoted, Prepared, But Who Survives? Assessing Ipswich, Coventry And Hull's Chances Of Staying Up

The Premier League has only completed two gameweeks, so there is plenty of football left before anyone can seriously predict the relegation battle. But the opening fortnight has already given Ipswich Town, Coventry City and Hull City three very different starts to life back in the top flight.

Hull have six points from six and have beaten Manchester United and Coventry without conceding. Ipswich have shown enough attacking quality to beat Sunderland before being brought back down to earth by Manchester United. Coventry, meanwhile, have lost both games and are yet to score.

The transfer window is now closed, which means there are no more easy fixes until January. These are the squads each promoted club will take into the season, and the question now is simple: who has given themselves the best chance of surviving?

Hull City: The Start Could Not Have Gone Much Better

Hull's summer has been extraordinary when you consider where the club stood only a few months ago.

The club spent last season under an EFL transfer embargo and were facing serious financial pressure after promotion. In June, Hull sold players to avoid the threat of a points deduction. Two months later, they had brought in 18 senior signings and invested more than £150m in their Premier League squad.

The recruitment has been aggressive. Nobel Mendy arrived for around £20m, Konstantinos Tzolakis was brought in to take over in goal, while Lucas Herrington, Ilyas Ansah, Mohamed Ali Cho, Tim Iroegbunam, Christos Mouzakitis and Brooke Norton Cuffy were among a major influx of younger talent. Joe Gelhardt's permanent return after his successful spell last season was also important, while Hidemasa Morita and Matt Targett added much-needed experience.

Hull also trimmed the squad where necessary. Ivor Pandur, Cody Drameh, Abu Kamara and Kyle Joseph were among the more notable departures, although the bigger story was clearly the scale of the rebuild. This is not the same Hull side that won promotion. Sergej Jakirovic has been handed an almost entirely refreshed group.

Six Points, Two Clean Sheets And A Squad That Looks Organised

On paper, Hull looked like the promoted side most likely to struggle before the season began. Two games into the season and that judgement has already been challenged.

Their 2-0 win over Manchester United was not a lucky smash-and-grab. Hull were organised, aggressive and comfortable playing within their system. The defensive unit stood up well; Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy scored from set pieces, while Tzolakis made an immediate impression in goal. Ryan Giles was also excellent down the left.

The win at Coventry was different. Hull did not dominate the game but defended their box well, stayed disciplined and struck late through Liam Millar. Mohamed Belloumi's counterattack and assist for the winner showed that they have enough quality to hurt teams even when they are not controlling possession. Tzolakis again made important saves as Hull recorded a second consecutive clean sheet.

That is probably the most encouraging part of their start. Hull have already shown they can win in different ways. They have beaten a major club at home and then gone away to another promoted side and ground out a result.

Can They Keep This Going?

The obvious question is whether Hull can sustain this level once the initial momentum fades.

They are still a newly promoted side with a huge number of new players who will need time to properly settle. A squad rebuilt this quickly can easily lose balance over the course of a long season, particularly once injuries begin to test the depth of the group.

But survival of a promoted team is not decided by whether they can dominate the Premier League. It is often decided by whether they can collect points before the pressure begins to build.

Hull, to their credit, have already done that.

Sunderland provided a useful example last season. They entered the Premier League with relegation expectations hanging over them, made a strong start and eventually gave themselves enough breathing room to stay up comfortably. Hull do not need to copy Sunderland exactly, but they should recognise the value of their current position.

Six points from the opening two games gives Jakirovic's side something extremely valuable: a strong, confident start.

Hull City's Survival Chances: 6/10

Ipswich Town: Plenty Of Talent, But Is The Squad Strong Enough?

Second time lucky for the Tractor Boys?

Ipswich were never going to approach this promotion like a club hoping to survive with a few sensible additions, like they did the last time. Lesson learnt?

Gary O'Neil's squad has been heavily rebuilt, with the club spending close to £200m during the window. Julio Enciso, Emersonn, Exequiel Palacios, Abdul Fatawu, Florentino Luís, Daizen Maeda and Zian Flemming were among the major arrivals, while Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop added Premier League experience.

The club have clearly prioritised technical quality and depth in midfield and attack. Enciso and Palacios are players with the ability to operate at a much higher level than a typical relegation battle, while Fatawu and Maeda give Ipswich genuine speed in wide areas.

The issue is at the other end.

Ipswich also brought in Diop, Cédric Kipré and goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, but there remains a legitimate question about whether the defensive rebuild is strong enough for the Premier League. Their first two games have done little to completely answer that concern.

Several familiar faces also departed, including George Hirst, Arijanet Muric, Harry Clarke, Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin. Ipswich have therefore taken a different approach from simply preserving the squad that earned promotion. They have spent heavily to raise the group's ceiling. The question is whether they have raised the floor enough as well.

A Good Start, Followed By A Brutal Reality Check

Ipswich's first game could hardly have gone better in terms of result.

They beat Sunderland 2-1 at Portman Road, with summer signing Emersonn opening the scoring before Jack Clarke came off the bench to score a 90th-minute winner against his former club. Enciso was heavily involved in the opening goal, and Ipswich showed a willingness to keep pushing for a winner rather than settle for a point.

The trip to Manchester United was a much harsher lesson.

Ipswich actually took the lead through Leif Davis and were level at half-time, but the second half exposed the gap they still need to close. United eventually won 5-2, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a hat trick and Ipswich's defence unable to cope once the home side began to take control.

That result should not cause panic. Old Trafford is not where Ipswich's survival season will be defined anyway.

But it reinforced the concern that already existed after the transfer window. Ipswich have added plenty of talent, yet their defensive resilience against stronger Premier League attacks remains an open question.

Ipswich Have Been Here Before. This Time They Need To Learn From It.

Ipswich do have one advantage over the other promoted sides: the club know what Premier League relegation feels like.

Their previous spell in the division did not last, and the mistakes from that campaign should still be fresh in the club's memory. The difference this time is that Ipswich have invested far more heavily and built a squad with considerably greater depth. That does not automatically guarantee them safety. 

At the moment, Ipswich look like a side capable of beating teams around them but also vulnerable to heavy defeats against stronger opposition. That is not necessarily fatal in a relegation battle, provided they become ruthless in the matches that will actually decide their season.

The win over Sunderland was important for exactly that reason.

Ipswich cannot afford to wait until March to start collecting points against fellow strugglers. They have enough attacking quality to make survival possible, but they need the defence to become far more dependable.

Ipswich Town's Survival Chances: 4/10

Coventry City: The Championship Form Has Not Followed Them Up

Coventry's promotion campaign was built around attacking football.

Frank Lampard's side were the highest scorers across England's top four divisions last season, and their Championship campaign gave supporters genuine reason to believe the club could carry that momentum into the Premier League. The step up has immediately proved far more difficult.

Coventry made 11 senior additions during the summer. Caleb Yirenkyi, Carl Rushworth, Sidiki Cherif, Loum Tchaouna and Aurèle Amenda were brought in for significant fees, while Taiwo Awoniyi, Ethan Pinnock and Gustavo Hamer added Premier League and top-level experience. Frank Onyeka and Stephen Mfuni were also added to give Lampard greater depth.

The recruitment has clearly tried to address two major issues: physicality and Premier League experience. Pinnock and Awoniyi in particular were brought in to give Coventry players who understand the demands of the division.

The concern is whether they have enough goals, which is kind of ironic because they could score goals with their eyes closed last year.

Awoniyi has not always been prolific at Premier League level, while Haji Wright's injury has removed an important attacking option. Cherif is talented, but only 19, and Ellis Simms cannot carry the entire scoring burden alone.

Two Games, Two Defeats And No Goals

Coventry's Premier League return started with a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal.

There is no shame in losing to the champions, but Coventry struggled to establish themselves once Arsenal took control. The second game against Hull was much more important because it came against another promoted club and at home.

Coventry were the better side for large periods, had more of the ball and showed plenty of effort, but they again failed to score. Hull then punished them late through Liam Millar's winner.

That result should concern the Coventry faithful a bit. 

Coventry will not be judged on their ability to take points from Arsenal. They will be judged on whether they can beat the teams around them, and Hull were among the clearest early opportunities to do so.

Two defeats from two games at the start of the season cannot be considered a crisis. But Lampard, of all people, will know that any team will take points over plaudits, and his team don’t just want to be appreciated for the football they play but also to be ruthless and start collecting some points.

Lampard Still Has Time, But Coventry Cannot Let The Season Drift

There is still plenty of time for Coventry to recover.

Lampard earned enormous credit for taking the club back to the Premier League, and his team were far too good in the Championship to suddenly become a bad side overnight. The issue is that the Premier League does not reward last season's performances.

Coventry need the new players to settle quickly and, more importantly, they need their attacking structure to start producing goals again. The return of injured players, including Wright, should help, while Awoniyi and Simms need to become reliable goal scorers.

The encouraging part is that Coventry did not look completely overwhelmed against Hull. They were competitive and created moments. 

Lampard has time to turn it around, but he will know the next stage of the season cannot become a string of respectable defeats.

Coventry City's Survival Chances: 3/10