The fight to survive in the Premier League may not be as glamorous as the battle for the title or the top-four, but for many fans it is just as significant. The prestige of the Premier League makes survival a huge desire, especially with the struggle that can often follow relegation.
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As a Leicester City fan, it has been a disappointing season for sure, but the suggestions that relegation is all but confirmed have grown tiresome and frankly irritating.
In Leicester’s case, 33 points are still up for grabs. Manchester United and Liverpool have both shown it doesn’t take too many wins to rise up the table. It is difficult to judge which teams will face this scrap to stay up as any team in the bottom half the table can still be viewed as vulnerable.
However, I think it is fair to say that the bottom five teams — Sunderland, Aston Villa, QPR, Burnley and Leicester — should be looked at the most, as their worries are the most immediate.
These are my predictions for each of the five clubs and their final point tally.
Current League Positions – 13/03/15
16th: Sunderland 28 -16 26
17th: Aston Villa 28 -23 25
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18th: QPR 28 -20 22
19th: Burnley 28 -22 22
20th: Leicester 27 -20 18
Sunderland
Currently the most comfortable of the five, Sunderland will be looking to escape relegation as soon as possible. Avoiding a potentially nervy end to the season is the goal thanks to tough couple of months.
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March
Sunderland WIN v Aston Villa
West Ham v Sunderland DRAW
April
Sunderland DRAW v Newcastle
Sunderland WIN v Crystal Palace
Arsenal v Sunderland DEFEAT
Stoke v Sunderland DRAW
May
Sunderland DEFEAT v Southampton
Everton v Sunderland DEFEAT
Sunderland DRAW v Leicester
Chelsea v Sunderland DEFEAT
Total: 2 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats.
36 points.
Aston Villa
Villa ended a seven game losing streak against West Brom last time out. The Villians will be hoping to build on this and avoid relegation from the Premier League for the first time. While they face a particularly challenging April, March does provide optimism.
March
Sunderland v Aston Villa DEFEAT
Aston Villa DRAW v Swansea
April
Man Utd v Aston Villa DEFEAT
Tottenham v Aston Villa DEFEAT
Aston Villa DRAW v QPR
Man City v Aston Villa DEFEAT
May
Aston Villa DRAW v Everton
Aston Villa WIN v West Ham
Southampton v Aston Villa DRAW
Aston Villa WIN v Burnley
Total: 2 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats.
35 points.
QPR
I wasn’t impressed with QPR during the transfer window. The failure to replace Harry Redknapp with a experienced manager with in these kind of battles will cost the side dearly. Serious issues await the London based side.
March
Crystal Palace v QPR DEFEAT
QPR DRAW v Everton
April
West Brom v QPR DRAW
QPR DRAW v Chelsea
Aston Villa v QPR DRAW
QPR DEFEAT v West Ham
May
Liverpool v QPR DEFEAT
Man City v QPR DEFEAT
QPR DRAW v Newcastle
Leicester v QPR DEFEAT
Total: 0 wins, 5 draws, 5 defeats.
27 points.
Burnley
I don’t believe Burnley will experience the kind of momentum needed push themselves up the table. A tough March, followed by a busy April against the big teams, means by May, survival might be out of sight causing a deflated finish.
March
Burnley DEFEAT v Man City
Southampton v Burnley DEFEAT
April
Burnley DRAW v Tottenham
Burnley DEFEAT v Arsenal
Everton v Burnley DEFEAT
Burnley DRAW v Leicester
May
West Ham v Burnley DRAW
Hull v Burnley DEFEAT
Burnley DEFEAT v Stoke
Aston Villa v Burnley DEFEAT
Total: 0 wins, 3 draws, 7 defeats.
25 points.
Leicester
Finally Leicester. Of course I am biased here but I’ve tried to remain consistent. Of the five, I firmly consider Leicester’s last quarter of the season to be the most favour-some. A win against Hull could be massive in their survival chances.
March
Leicester WIN v Hull
Tottenham v Leicester DRAW
April
Leicester WIN v West Ham
West Brom v Leicester DRAW
Leicester WIN v Swansea
Burnley v Leicester DRAW
Leicester DEFEAT v Chelsea
May
Leicester WIN v Newcastle
Leicester WIN v Southampton
Sunderland v Leicester DRAW
Leicester WIN v QPR
Total: 6 wins, 4 draws, 1 defeat.
40 points.
Final table predictions
16th: Leicester 40
17th: Sunderland 36
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18th: Aston Villa 35
19th: QPR 27
20th: Burnley 25
Conclusion
The Premier League doesn’t guarantee anything, hence me making this post illustrating Leicester’s survival chances. It is important to note that football can spring surprises, making predictions difficult. This is what makes the game we love so entertaining.
The bottom three will no doubt finish West Brom, Everton and Hull.