English Premier League: The relegation fight and who’s going down
Where are We? The most defining aspect of the current Premier League season, besides Man City’s general dominance, is the congestion of teams hovering around the relegation zone.
As it stands, 10 points separate 7th place Burnley and 18th place Swansea City.
West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, and Swansea City are the teams in the relegation zone. West Brom is in last place and seven points away from safety, while Stoke and Swansea are one point from safety.
Crystal Palace, Southampton, Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town, and West Ham United are either three points, or a higher goal difference above the drop. At this point of the season, it is rare to find so many teams close to the relegation zone.
With only ten games remaining in the league this season, the relegation battle is likely to be as exciting as the race for the top four.
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History Lesson
You would have to go back to the 2010/2011 season to find more than seven teams separated by three, or fewer points in a relegation battle with ten games remaining.
Back then, West Ham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Wigan Athletic were in the relegation zone. Of those three only West Ham were relegated, as Birmingham City and Blackpool instead went down.
In general, at this stage of the season, it’s typical that at least two of the teams in the relegation zone are going down, but the 2010/2011 season should provide some hope to Stoke and Swansea.
For West Brom, it is extremely unlikely they will be able to make up the seven-point gap.
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The Relegation Zone
West Brom can look to Leicester City from the 2014/2015 season, as they had 19 points with ten games remaining and miraculously survived.
If Daniel Sturridge is able to get a run of form that was similar to the 2013/2014 season, maybe West Brom could get out of this mess.
Stoke is an interesting case, because you wouldn’t expect a team with such European talent to be in the relegation zone. Xherdan Shaqiri is a genuine world talent, but even his goals are not propelling Stoke to safety.
In two of their last three matches, Stoke have scored first, but failed to either hold their lead or build on it, leading to frustrating draw after draw. Considering they have 26 points and in 15th place, Newcastle has 29 points, Stoke are in desperate need of victories.
This week’s matchup against fellow relegation straggler, Southampton is a crucial encounter. Unfortunately for Stoke, their schedule becomes extremely difficult afterward as they face Man City, Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool before the season ends.
Though, their season finale matchup against Swansea, could be a game of the season candidate, considering the stakes that may be involved.
Swansea enjoyed a new manager bump earlier with victories against Liverpool, Arsenal, and Burnley, but a 4-1 defeat to Brighton Hove Albion has brought them back to Earth.
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Can Swansea replicate last year’s end of year form to bring them to safety?
Perhaps, but unless they can get Everton to sell back Gylfi Sigurdsson, it’s unlikely that they will be able to find the goal scoring to get them to safety. Aside from some matches against Man City, Man United, and Chelsea, Swansea’s schedule is much more manageable.
They have many matchups against other relegation teams such as Bournemouth, West Brom, and Southampton. Swansea at least have a puncher’s chance to earn safety through good results in these matchups.
The Relegation battle is heating up and it’s always around this time of year some bottom feeding team elevates their form to a level that brings them to safety.
It is going to very interesting to watch.