We’re getting very close to the midpoint of the domestic football calendar, and at this point league tables are sorting themselves out. While there’s a great deal of football left to be played at every level, we at least have a pretty good idea of the general tiers teams have fallen into. For Championship viewers, one thing this means is that we can start to look at which clubs have the best chance of being promoted to the Premier League – but also which EPL clubs are most likely to be playing Championship football next season.

With no further ado then, here’s a midseason look at some of the Premier League clubs that could well join the Championship in the near future.

Swansea City

Swansea is currently at the bottom of the EPL table, and a recent article put it bluntly, saying everything about Swansea has relegation written all over it. That’s a fairly harsh outlook, but it does seem to be accurate. Though this club finished seven points clear of the relegation zone last season, it was also the closest EPL team on this list to being relegated. We haven’t seen Swansea in the Championship since 2010-11, when the team barely bounced up – but we should probably get used to the idea of them returning.

West Brom

At this moment, West Brom is squarely in the EPL relegation zone, which could mean that the Championship is poised to take on a high quality club. Of the teams on this list, West Brom is second only to Stoke City (which we’ll get to in a moment) in the length of its Premier League tenure. Not since the 2009-10 season, when West Brom finished second in the Championship, has the team been below the top flight. We could well see them climb out of the Premiership basement, but it’s certainly a team to watch.

Stoke City

It doesn’t seem like it’s been so long, but Stoke City has actually been a top flight team ever since earning promotion with a second place Championship finish in 2007-08. Things could well change this season, however. Stoke has been the worst defensive team in the Premier League, and it hasn’t been close. This led to the recent sacking of manager Martin Hughes, who was actually mentioned as one of the favourites in the sack race before the season started. Stoke has a lot of ground to make up, and as of this writing is third from the bottom of the table, in the relegation zone. This club appears to be in something of a decline, but would certainly be among the stronger Championship sides at least in theory, coming off a decade in the EPL.

Southampton

Southampton is undoubtedly the most surprising team on this list. This club is coming off four straight top-10 finishes in the EPL, and has been competitive more or less since being promoted for the 2012-13 season. Supporters have been frustrated with manager Mauricio Pellegrino, and the team has simply had trouble scoring goals at a clip that would keep it more competitive. This too could make for a very strong addition to the Championship, though if we had to bet on an outcome it would be that Southampton will right the ship at least enough to avoid relegation.

Brighton

As we well know, this is just Brighton’s first season in the EPL after being promoted over the summer, and things aren’t going particularly well just yet. However, for a newly promoted club early struggles are understandable, and being a few points clear of relegation at this point in the season isn’t actually a disaster. A quick return is possible, surely, and Brighton is said to be assessing its options after losing Izzy Brown for the season. However, this team has a chance to stay up.

Newcastle

Newcastle isn’t safe of relegation just yet, though after seeing them win the Championship a season ago most of us wouldn’t expect there to be problems. In a more general sense, or with a historical perspective at least, this is simply a top flight team that has the occasional dip in play – but which is a little too strong for the second division. For perspective, counting this season, Newcastle has spent 23 of the past 25 years in the Premier League. It’ll probably be 24 of 26 next season.