As the calendar turns to March and EPL teams look forward to their last 10 matches of the season, the attention of many clubs and their fans is directed towards the bottom of the EPL table, and how they can avoid the bottom 3 and stay in the Premiership for another season.
This year's relegation battle appears to be set for an exciting conclusion. In fact, it is difficult to determine how many teams to include in the relegation battle this year. Ninth Place Everton sits at 34 points, but that is just seven points clear of the bottom three. There are 8 teams within 5 points of relegation, so the possibilities are endless. 40 points is the line that normally guarantees safety, but with 18th place Swansea sitting on 27 points with 10 matches remaining, it is a very real possibility that 40 points will not be enough this year. For now the focus of the relegation battle will be on the bottom 8 clubs. If teams go on a 3 week hot streak they may be removed from the discussion, but if a club goes on a three week losing streak then they may be added.
Current Standings (All clubs have played 28 matches):
13 West Ham United 30 points
14 Huddersfield Town 30 points
15 Newcastle United 29 points
16 Southampton 27 points
17 Crystal Palace 27 points
18 Swansea City 27 points
19 Stoke City 26 points
20 West Bromwich Albion 20 points
Here is a brief look at the clubs currently in the relegation battle:
13. West Ham United (30 points, -15 goal differential). Stop me if you have heard this before, but given the squad they have and the resources available, the Hammers have no right to be a part of relegation talk. But, again, here they are, down in the bottom half of the league fooling around with relegation. West Ham started off the season really poorly, claiming just 2 wins in their first 15 matches. But since a win at Chelsea in early December the Hammers have been much more consistent in earning points. They should be safe, but any team that is as capable of playing as poorly as the Hammers did in September and October could fall on their face again.
14. Huddersfield Town (30 points, -23 goal differential). What a wild ride it has been for Huddersfield in their debut season in the EPL. The Terriers have had moments of brilliance (starting the season 2-0-1, a home victory over Man United) followed by moments of abject failure (4-0 loss to Bournemouth, 5-0 loss to Arsenal, 4-1 loss to West Ham). To call their season an up and down one would be an understatement. The Terriers have won their last 2 matches, but they really need to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone if they are to survive, because their last stretch of games is brutal. Huddersfield end the season with a last four of @ Chelsea, v. Everton, @ Man City, v Arsenal. They do not want to go into that stretch needing points to secure safety, so Huddersfield need to secure points from the next six, which is a much easier run after this weekend's trip to Tottenham (v. Swansea, v. Palace, @ Newcastle, @ Brighton, v. Watford).
15. Newcastle United (29 points, -11 goal differential). After a promising start to the season, Newcastle went through a brutal stretch from late October to mid-December where the Magpies didn't win a game in 9 EPL matches. That stretch brought them down into a relegation battle. Since then, the club has recorded points in eight of their last ten, with the two losses both being to Manchester City. Newcastle look like a club who will survive the relegation fight, and they are playing well right now, but their last 10 games may be as difficult as anyone, so Rafa Benitez's squad needs to figure out a way to get three points more often and avoid as many draws, especially against other bottom dwellers.
16. Southampton (27 points, -12 goal differential). Looking at Southampton's season, it is difficult to figure out why they are down here in the battle zone. The club has not had a prolonged stretch of bad results, they have just been consistently mediocre all season long. Their results suggest the club should be at a point where it is considered safe, yet here they are, just out of the bottom three just due to a better goal differential. Southampton doesn't look like a club that should be relegated, and their next four games could be the key to their safety as they will battle four fellow relegation battlers (@ Swansea, Stoke, @ Newcastle, @ West Ham) before they end the season with a difficult run of 6 games (@ Arsenal, Chelsea, @ Leicester, Bournemouth, @ Everton, Man City).
17. Crystal Palace (27 points, -18 goal differential). Given the fact that Palace went 0-7 in their first 7 matches without a goal, and in mid-December had just 11 points it is a bit of a miracle that the club is now out of the relegation zone (barely) and has a good chance of avoiding relegation. The Eagles have been a different side since Roy Hodgson took over, so it would be a bit of a shock to see the club now drop out of the EPL, but given their terrible start you knew they were going to be involved in the relegation battle this year.
18. Swansea (27 points, -20 goal differential). After flirting with relegation for much of last season, the Swans again find themselves in the bottom three with 10 matches remaining. Like last season, the club again had a very poor start to the season which resulted in their manager being sacked in December. This year, since Carlos Carvalhal's arrival as the manager, the club has looked much better, going 3-2-2 since the beginning of the new year. The club's last 10 matches are not too difficult, with just 3 games remaining against the top 6 and plenty of matches against other relegation battlers.
19. Stoke City (26 points, -26 goal differential). Stoke started the season well enough, bouncing along at their normal mid-table pace, but a 2-8-1 stretch from the end of November through mid-January saw the team drop into the relegation battle and resulted in the Potters finally ridding themselves of the albatross that is Mark Hughes. Under Paul Lambert the club has gone 1-1-3 for 6 points in their last 5, so it appears the tide is turning somewhat. Stoke do have 4 remaining games against the top 6 clubs, so victories, not draws, will be needed in their other six remaining games should they hope to avoid relegation.
20. West Bromwich Albion (20 points, -20 goal differential). West Brom are the one squad that has dropped off the pace somewhat. Allen Pardew (not one of my favorites) took over the club from Tony Pulis at the end of November, and since then the club has gone a dismal 1-8-5 for 8 points in 14 games, and having lost their last 4. So the Baggies look like a team that is destined for relegation, trailing 17th place by 7 points. The schedule is favorable for West Brom, as they only have 3 games left against the top 6, and they have lots of chances against other relegation battlers, but the Baggies do not look like a team that is capable of making a run.
Should be an exciting 2 months, filled with lots of ups and downs!
This year's relegation battle appears to be set for an exciting conclusion. In fact, it is difficult to determine how many teams to include in the relegation battle this year. Ninth Place Everton sits at 34 points, but that is just seven points clear of the bottom three. There are 8 teams within 5 points of relegation, so the possibilities are endless. 40 points is the line that normally guarantees safety, but with 18th place Swansea sitting on 27 points with 10 matches remaining, it is a very real possibility that 40 points will not be enough this year. For now the focus of the relegation battle will be on the bottom 8 clubs. If teams go on a 3 week hot streak they may be removed from the discussion, but if a club goes on a three week losing streak then they may be added.
Current Standings (All clubs have played 28 matches):
13 West Ham United 30 points
14 Huddersfield Town 30 points
15 Newcastle United 29 points
16 Southampton 27 points
17 Crystal Palace 27 points
18 Swansea City 27 points
19 Stoke City 26 points
20 West Bromwich Albion 20 points
Here is a brief look at the clubs currently in the relegation battle:
13. West Ham United (30 points, -15 goal differential). Stop me if you have heard this before, but given the squad they have and the resources available, the Hammers have no right to be a part of relegation talk. But, again, here they are, down in the bottom half of the league fooling around with relegation. West Ham started off the season really poorly, claiming just 2 wins in their first 15 matches. But since a win at Chelsea in early December the Hammers have been much more consistent in earning points. They should be safe, but any team that is as capable of playing as poorly as the Hammers did in September and October could fall on their face again.
14. Huddersfield Town (30 points, -23 goal differential). What a wild ride it has been for Huddersfield in their debut season in the EPL. The Terriers have had moments of brilliance (starting the season 2-0-1, a home victory over Man United) followed by moments of abject failure (4-0 loss to Bournemouth, 5-0 loss to Arsenal, 4-1 loss to West Ham). To call their season an up and down one would be an understatement. The Terriers have won their last 2 matches, but they really need to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone if they are to survive, because their last stretch of games is brutal. Huddersfield end the season with a last four of @ Chelsea, v. Everton, @ Man City, v Arsenal. They do not want to go into that stretch needing points to secure safety, so Huddersfield need to secure points from the next six, which is a much easier run after this weekend's trip to Tottenham (v. Swansea, v. Palace, @ Newcastle, @ Brighton, v. Watford).
15. Newcastle United (29 points, -11 goal differential). After a promising start to the season, Newcastle went through a brutal stretch from late October to mid-December where the Magpies didn't win a game in 9 EPL matches. That stretch brought them down into a relegation battle. Since then, the club has recorded points in eight of their last ten, with the two losses both being to Manchester City. Newcastle look like a club who will survive the relegation fight, and they are playing well right now, but their last 10 games may be as difficult as anyone, so Rafa Benitez's squad needs to figure out a way to get three points more often and avoid as many draws, especially against other bottom dwellers.
16. Southampton (27 points, -12 goal differential). Looking at Southampton's season, it is difficult to figure out why they are down here in the battle zone. The club has not had a prolonged stretch of bad results, they have just been consistently mediocre all season long. Their results suggest the club should be at a point where it is considered safe, yet here they are, just out of the bottom three just due to a better goal differential. Southampton doesn't look like a club that should be relegated, and their next four games could be the key to their safety as they will battle four fellow relegation battlers (@ Swansea, Stoke, @ Newcastle, @ West Ham) before they end the season with a difficult run of 6 games (@ Arsenal, Chelsea, @ Leicester, Bournemouth, @ Everton, Man City).
17. Crystal Palace (27 points, -18 goal differential). Given the fact that Palace went 0-7 in their first 7 matches without a goal, and in mid-December had just 11 points it is a bit of a miracle that the club is now out of the relegation zone (barely) and has a good chance of avoiding relegation. The Eagles have been a different side since Roy Hodgson took over, so it would be a bit of a shock to see the club now drop out of the EPL, but given their terrible start you knew they were going to be involved in the relegation battle this year.
18. Swansea (27 points, -20 goal differential). After flirting with relegation for much of last season, the Swans again find themselves in the bottom three with 10 matches remaining. Like last season, the club again had a very poor start to the season which resulted in their manager being sacked in December. This year, since Carlos Carvalhal's arrival as the manager, the club has looked much better, going 3-2-2 since the beginning of the new year. The club's last 10 matches are not too difficult, with just 3 games remaining against the top 6 and plenty of matches against other relegation battlers.
19. Stoke City (26 points, -26 goal differential). Stoke started the season well enough, bouncing along at their normal mid-table pace, but a 2-8-1 stretch from the end of November through mid-January saw the team drop into the relegation battle and resulted in the Potters finally ridding themselves of the albatross that is Mark Hughes. Under Paul Lambert the club has gone 1-1-3 for 6 points in their last 5, so it appears the tide is turning somewhat. Stoke do have 4 remaining games against the top 6 clubs, so victories, not draws, will be needed in their other six remaining games should they hope to avoid relegation.
20. West Bromwich Albion (20 points, -20 goal differential). West Brom are the one squad that has dropped off the pace somewhat. Allen Pardew (not one of my favorites) took over the club from Tony Pulis at the end of November, and since then the club has gone a dismal 1-8-5 for 8 points in 14 games, and having lost their last 4. So the Baggies look like a team that is destined for relegation, trailing 17th place by 7 points. The schedule is favorable for West Brom, as they only have 3 games left against the top 6, and they have lots of chances against other relegation battlers, but the Baggies do not look like a team that is capable of making a run.
Should be an exciting 2 months, filled with lots of ups and downs!
