As the battle to remain in the Premier League rages on, things aren’t looking good for several teams at the bottom of the table. Everton, Leeds, Norwich, Watford, and Burnley are within, or dangerously close, to the drop zone. So who’s going to survive?
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Norwich
Norwich are doomed. The Canaries are currently rock bottom, seven points away from the outside of the drop zone with seven games left to play.
While it’s by no means mathematically impossible they’ll survive, Norwich’s performances over the season make it hard to envisage that they’ll achieve anything more than displacing 19th placed Watford who sit one point ahead.
Newcastle United
Newcastle have improved under Eddie Howe’s leadership and benefitted from the owners’ decision to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window. The club is poised to escape relegation.
Despite three straight defeats to Chelsea, Everton and a crushing 5-1 loss to Tottenham, Newcastle bounced back with an important win over Wolves on April 8th.
Newcastle face two more successive games at home, which should uplift the team in two of their “easier” remaining fixtures against Leicester and Crystal Palace before facing Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and relegation rival Burnley.
Leeds
Jesse Marsch’s boys are inching closer to safety and their recent form has brought respite as relegation rivals Burney and Watford failed to capitalise.
After their heroic 3-2 win against the Wolves, they followed it up with a 1-1 draw against Southampton, then a 3-0 critical win over relegation rivals Watford. With 33 points on the board, they look pretty secure.
However, Leeds aren’t yet out of the woods as their remaining matches are against some of the highest performing teams this season, namely Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Watford
With 21 losses from 31 games, Watford’s chances of survival are slim. They face Brentford, Leeds, and Burnley and will hope for a rerun of their promising Anfield performance.
Fans are hoping for a change in pace as five of the remaining fixtures are at home. However, the Hornets are in for a tough competition as they must also face Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
Roy Hodgson’s team may end up playing their final fixtures to save face, as their fight could be over before then.
Everton
Frank Lampard’s patchy Everton opened a three-point gap over the bottom three teams in the table after a late win against Newcastle on March 17th. This was a vital victory for the Toffees, but subsequent defeats against West Ham and Burnley put Everton right back into the relegation dog fight, mounting even more pressure on Lampard and his players. Despite the shock 1-0 win against Man United that followed, Everton’s fate still hangs by a thread.
Everton are currently positioned just above the relegation zone. While the Toffees certainly have the games to earn the points needed for survival, they face rivals Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal — one of which is fighting for the title (Liverpool), and the other (Arsenal) for a 4th place Champions League spot. Meanwhile their relegation rivals have shown their ability to capitalise as soon as Everton slip up.
Everton’s relegation from the Premier League this season would be one of the club’s biggest catastrophes. The last time they were relegated was in 1951, before bouncing back up to the top flight a few years later in 1953-54.
Burnley
Sean Dyche’s Burnley look to be Everton’s main rival in the fight for survival. They’re currently sitting 3rd from bottom, just above Watford.
Having beaten Everton on 6th April in a landmark game, Burnley failed to follow it up with a performance that’d help to propel them out of the relegation zone. They were defeated 2-0 to doomed Norwich City on 10th April, and now rely on Everton slipping up in the remaining fixtures in order to capitalise.
The threat of relegation grows, and Burnley cannot afford to waste any more opportunities to gain points. The Clarets have won just four games in the Premier League, but they’re well-known for their resilience and worth ethic. Their remaining run of fixtures certainly look more favourable than Everton’s — so don’t write them off yet.
Promotions Race
With three teams dropping out of England’s top flight, three more must replace them next season. The top two finishers from the Championship, the second-highest professional tier, automatically qualify for the Premier League while a promotion playoff decides the third contender from clubs placed 3rd to 6th in the table.
Currently Fulham and Bournemouth look set for a return to the Premier League, while Huddersfield, Nottingham Forest Luton Town and Sheffield United will be looking to grab the final place. In particular, it would be a monumental achievement for Luton to make it to the top flight of English Football. The club were promoted to League One after finishing second in League Two in 2017–18, and won a second successive promotion to the Championship the following season by winning the title. But the competition for the final spot in the Premier League is notoriously fierce.
If you want to place bets on the third qualifier, several online bookmakers and crypto betting sites will take you up on the offer. The Playoff final is an exciting, major event in English football as the jump in money generated from ticket sales, sponsorships, TV rights and sports betting is a game-changer for clubs that gain promotion from the Championship. The match itself reportedly brings millions of pounds in revenue, with the winner receiving a share of the profits and, of course, a chance to participate against some of the top sides in European football.
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