ChipFTAC01 said:

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Aston, I just want to give you credit for how well you do both writing and even keeping up with this thread over the years. Even your attention to formatting is delightful. I don't know if you watch a ton of soccer and have a flair for good, informative, concise writing or you just copy and paste these from elsewhere but I really don't care.

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Thanks, I really enjoy doing it. I have always found relegation so interesting and the EPL relegation battle is the easiest for us to access and consume here as Americans.

To answer your question, I would say "both". I do watch a lot of the games, or at least watch the highlights if I don't have time to watch the full match, and I pull information from several sites and write a game report using info from those sites. So a tad bit of cut and paste, and then me taking the information and tying it together and adding to it. I also get a lot of information from the team pages when they do their game facts prior to and after matches. I always wanted to be a sports reporter and this gives me a way to scratch that itch.

Glad you enjoy it, I have often wondered if I would do this if no one was reading it, and I think I would, just because I enjoy keeping up with it so much.

He's had lots of practice, he started doing match reports on youtube a decade ago.

Aston94 said:

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ChipFTAC01 said:

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Aston, I just want to give you credit for how well you do both writing and even keeping up with this thread over the years. Even your attention to formatting is delightful. I don't know if you watch a ton of soccer and have a flair for good, informative, concise writing or you just copy and paste these from elsewhere but I really don't care.

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Thanks, I really enjoy doing it. I have always found relegation so interesting and the EPL relegation battle is the easiest for us to access and consume here as Americans.

To answer your question, I would say "both". I do watch a lot of the games, or at least watch the highlights if I don't have time to watch the full match, and I pull information from several sites and write a game report using info from those sites. So a tad bit of cut and paste, and then me taking the information and tying it together and adding to it. I also get a lot of information from the team pages when they do their game facts prior to and after matches. I always wanted to be a sports reporter and this gives me a way to scratch that itch.

Glad you enjoy it, I have often wondered if I would do this if no one was reading it, and I think I would, just because I enjoy keeping up with it so much.

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I hear you on this. I don't think either of my big posts/projects looking at the historical greatness of all of the top EFL clubs have generated more than a handful of replies and yet I'm currently in the middle of rebuilding year by year tables for all 4 divisions going back to 1888 just because I want to slice it again myself.

If Everton go down is this the biggest/most notable relegation since Newcastle 10 years ago?

ChipFTAC01 said:

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If Everton go down is this the biggest/most notable relegation since Newcastle 10 years ago?

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Villa was relegated in 2016. Not sure if those clubs are comparable.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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Aston, I just want to give you credit for how well you do both writing and even keeping up with this thread over the years. Even your attention to formatting is delightful. I don't know if you watch a ton of soccer and have a flair for good, informative, concise writing or you just copy and paste these from elsewhere but I really don't care.

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I second this. Always a great informative write up. Really appreciate the work you do on this thread!

Yeah, I would put Villa in that tranche of "big clubs but not Big 6".

Everton has more silverware historically but Villa has a champions league. The big thing is Evertons first division streak, unrelegated since the early fifties. Only Arsenal has had a longer run(which is over a hundred years).

To the interest of pretty much just me, in 1970 when Everton won their 7th title that put them level for most titles with Liverpool, United and Arsenal. Villa and Sunderland were one behind with 6 (although all of Villa's titles were Pre - WwI as we're 5/6 of Sunderland's). Arsenal won the next year to go to 8 and then Liverpool started their run in 72 to win 12 of the next 18.

With FA Cup and Covid cancellations to make up, we have some Thursday night midweek games this week, all of which involve relegation clubs.

Current Relegation Standings:

Team GP Points
14. Newcastle 26 28
15. Brentford 28 27
16. Leeds 27 23
17. Everton 25 22
18. Burnley 26 21
19. Watford 27 19
20. Norwich 27 17

Thursday:
Norwich v. Chelsea (1:30pm, Carrow Road, Peacock). Norwich will welcome visitors from the Capital City as Chelsea travel to the East Coast for a Thursday night clash. The Canaries are winless in their last 13 Premier League meetings with Chelsea (D2 L11), since a 3-0 home victory in December 1994. The Blues are on a roll, having won their last three Premier League matches by an aggregate score of 7-0, which happens to be the same score line as the last time these two sides met, when Chelsea destroyed Norwich 7-0 at Stamford Bridge back in October. Norwich have lost their last four matches by a combined score of 2-12, so this one could get ugly for the Canaries.

Southampton v. Newcastle (1:30pm, St. Mary's Stadium, Peacock). Newcastle are on the verge of being out of the relegation battle, and one more win might just do it. The Magpies are on quite a roll, as Newcastle United are one of just two sides (along with Liverpool) without a Premier League defeat so far in 2022 (W5 D2). St. Mary's has not been kind to Newcastle, however, as Southampton have lost just two of their 20 Premier League home matches against Newcastle (W13 D5). The recent past does favor Newcastle, as the Magpies have lost just one of their last nine league encounters with Southampton (W5 D3), though that defeat did come in this exact fixture last season (0-2). The two sides drew 2-2 in August in Newcastle, so this could be a good match.

Wolverhampton v. Watford (1:30pm, Molineaux Stadium, Peacock). Watford travel to the Midlands to take on the Wolves. Watford has been a strong away team this season, of their Premier League points this season, 63 percent have come away from home (12/19), the highest such share in the EPL. The Hornets have lost just one of their last five road games (W1 D3) and have kept three clean sheets in four away trips under manager Roy Hodgson. Wolverhampton claimed a 2-0 victory in September when the two clubs met at Vicarage Road.

Leeds United v. Aston Villa (1:45pm, Elland Road, Peacock). Jesse Marsch will manage his first home match as the Leeds United head coach when the Whites welcome Aston Villa to Elland Road. Marcsh has won his first home league match at his previous three clubs. Daniel James scored a brace in Leeds' 3-3 draw at Aston Villa earlier this season. Phillippe Coutinho has been quite a pick up for Aston Villa, as he is averaging a goal or assist every 87 minutes for the Villans this term. Only Danny Ings (nine) and Ollie Watkins (eight) have been involved in more Premier League goals for Villa this season than Philippe Coutinho's six (three goals and three assists), despite the Brazilian only playing seven matches for the club. Leeds and Villa tied 3-3 a few weeks ago at Villa Park, so hopefully this match will be as exciting.

Should be a great Thursday of action!

Game 2 for Marsch wasn't pretty.

Newcastle officially out of the battle in my opinion.

Leeds looked horrific.
Watford beat down
Norwich always going down
Huge battle between Brentford and Burnley. A Brentford win could put them mostly safe.
Everton with a tough road to hoe with Wolves.


Watford and Norwich are already relegated in my book.

This comes down to a fight between Leeds, Everton and Burnley.

Leeds have an easier schedule. But, they truly looked terrible. Everton have the toughest remaining schedule I believe.

Thursday Results:
Norwich 1-3 Chelsea. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount each provided a goal and an assist as Chelsea won 3-1 at Norwich City to further the Canaries' misery. Trevoh Chalobah scored a early goal for Chelsea when he headed in Mount's corner in just the 3rd minute. Mount then doubled Chelsea's lead in the 14th minute with a powerful strike into the top-right corner. Norwich continued to fight, though and got a goal back in the 69th minute (nice) when Teemu Pukki converted a penalty kick that was awarded following a VAR review of a Chalobah handball. Kenny McLean nearly leveled the match when he had a header saved by Edouard Mendy, but Havertz then sealed the victory for the Blues in the 90th minute. Norwich remain 20th on 17 points, five behind 17th-placed Everton having played three matches more.

Southampton 1-2 Newcastle. Bruno Guimaraes scored a sensational game winning goal to help Newcastle United earn a 2-1 comeback victory at Southampton and claim its sixth win in seven matches.
Stuart Armstrong put Southampton ahead at the 25th-minute with a close range header. Chris Wood leveled the score just 7 minute later when he headed in Jonjo Shelvey's cross. Guimaraes celebrated his first EPL start in style as he scored on a beautiful back-heeled volley to make it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. The Saints had several opportunities to level the match in the closing minutes, but Newcastle were saved by the goaltending of Martin Dubravka. Having extended their unbeaten league run to nine matches Newcastle sit 14th with 31 points and are now comfortably out of the relegation battle.

Wolverhampton 4-0 Watford. Three first-half goals helped Wolverhampton Wanderers to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Watford, adding to Watford's despair. Raul Jimenez gave Wolves the lead in the 13th minute, finishing from six yards out. The Wanderers increased their lead five minutes later after Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross was deflected in for an own goal by Cucho Hernandez. Daniel Podence made it 3-0 in the 21st minute after a poor clearance by Ben Foster allowed Podence to chip the keeper into an empty net. Ruben Neves added a fourth with five minutes remaining with a beautiful strike from the edge of the box. Watford sit 19th on 19 points, three adrift of 17th-placed Everton having played three matches more.

Leeds United 0-3 Aston Villa. Aston Villa destroyed Leeds United 3-0 at Elland Road in Jesse Marsch's first home match as Leeds head coach. The opening goal came in the 22nd minute when Philiipe Coutinho continued his hot form and converted Matty Cash's cutback. Leeds responded in the second half, with Raphinha immediately shooting a ball across the face of goal. The Villans increased their lead when Cash struck a powerful low finish in the 65th minute. Calum Chambers sealed the match when he added a third goal eight minutes later. Leeds stay 16th following a sixth consecutive defeat, two points clear of 18th-placed Burnley, but having played two matches more.

Current Relegation Standings:

Team GP Points
14. Newcastle 27 31
15. Brentford 28 27
16. Leeds 28 23
17. Everton 25 22
18. Burnley 26 21
19. Watford 28 19
20. Norwich 28 17

Okay, quick turnaround from the Thursday matches to the weekend games. This weekend is a HUGE one for the relegation battle, so let's get to these very important 6-pointers this weekend. This weekend could really define the whole battle, as we have two six-pointers on tap. I have removed Newcastle from the relegation battle for now, as they have been on a really strong run.

Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
15. Brentford 28 27
16. Leeds 28 23
17. Everton 25 22
18. Burnley 26 21
19. Watford 28 19
20. Norwich 28 17

Weekend Matches:

Saturday
Brentford v. Burnley (9am, Brentford Community Stadium, USA Network). Only one game on Saturday involves relegation battlers, but it is a very important one, as the Bees will welcome the Clarets to West London. Burnley have fared well when travelling to the Capital City drawing with Chelsea, Arsenal and Crystal Palace this season.
Brentford's 3-1 win at Norwich last time out ended a run of eight league matches without a win, while they scored as many goals in that victory as they had in their previous seven league contests combined. The Bees are looking to secure consecutive Premier League victories for the first time. Burnley are looking to complete the league double over Brentford for only the second time in their history following their 3-1 victory over the Bees at Turf Moor in October. A Burnley victory would pull the Clarets out of the bottom 3, and would add to the pressure on Brentford. These are the games a club has to win if they hope to avoid relegation.

Sunday
Everton v. Wolverhampton (9am, Goodison Park, Peacock). Wolverhampton destroyed relegation fighter Watford 4-0 on Thursday, and will be looking for more of the same when they travel to Merseyside on Sunday to take on another relegation battler in Everton. Following their 2-1 victory at Molineux in November, Wolverhampton Wanderers are looking to complete the league double over Everton for the first time since 1972-73. Since the start of 2021, when Everton lost 2-1 at home to West Ham, no team has lost more Premier League home matches than the Toffees (13). Everton have been their own worst enemies this season, collectively Everton's players have made eight errors leading to a goal in the Premier League this season, more than any other side in the EPL. Everton need to right the ship, and fast, to avoid falling out of the EPL for the first time.

Leeds v. Norwich City (9am Elland Road, Peacock). Did we say the Brentford-Burnley match was big? This one may be even more important for the fate of these two clubs, as Leeds will be seeking their first victory under new manager Jesse Marsch and Norwich will be desperate for a way out of the bottom spot. Neither side looked good at all in Thursday losses, so they will both be happy for the quick turnaround. Marsch needs a win to avoid drawing the ire of the Leed's faithful who were not happy with the departure of Bielsa in the first place. Leeds United are looking to complete the league double over Norwich for the first time since 1980-81, following their 2-1 win at Carrow Road on Halloween. Norwich have scored fewer away goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (7). A Leeds loss could see them end the weekend in the bottom 3, with a Norwich victory getting the Canaries out of the basement.


Southampton v. Watford (9am, St. Mary's Stadium, Peacock). Neither the Saints or the Hornets looked particularly good their last time out on Thursday, and will both be seeking a rebound when they meet on the South Coast on Sunday. Southampton are unbeaten in their last six Premier League matches against Watford, winning each of the last three, including a 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road in October. Indeed, Saints have lost just two of their 13 meetings with the Hornets overall in the EPL. Watford started well under Roy Hogdson, but have claimed only one point from their last 4 matches.

Enjoy the Weekend!

Brentford absolutely steal 3 points. They are likely safe. Also helps Leeds and Everton.

Leeds v Norwich. What a finish!

Everton go down with a whimper. Watford get an unexpected win at Southampton. Getting spicy at the bottom.

Mmmm… spicy bottoms.

Great weekend of relegation soccer, as we had two very important 6-pointers where the importance of victory was on full display. If you haven't watched the last 10 minutes of the Leeds-Norwich match I invite you to go do so. It will show you how much this means to the teams and exactly why they are in the relegation fight. Was truly must watch television, in fact, I have watched it twice now.

Our bottom 6 clubs claimed 9 points over the weekend, which led to a bit of space for Brentford and Leeds, and a lot of concern for the three clubs who did not get points (Norwich, Burnley and Everton). I have been a long fan of the Toffees, but I am calling my shot, I think Everton are going down. I just don't see any resolve or fight with the club. You watch Leeds and see what it means to the players and how they have let Marsch into their inner circle immediately, and I just don't see that with the Everton players and Lampard. Give me either Roy Hogdson or Sam Dyche to overtake Lampard and Everton.

Weekend Results:

Brentford 2-0 Burnley. Brentford boosted their chances of EPL survival by claiming their first ever consecutive EPL victories thanks to Ivan Toney scoring two late goals earning Brentford a 2-0 victory over relegation rivals Burnley. Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Eriksen each had early opportunities for Brentford, but could not get the ball Nick Pope and ex-Brentford defender James Tarkowski, who cleared Mbeumo's volley off the line. Burnley had their best opportunities in the second half, with Maxwel Cornet denied by David Raya's reaction save before substitute Jay Rodriguez's spectacular shot struck the bar. Toney put the Bees ahead with five minutes remaining, heading in a beautiful cross by Eriksen. Toney's second goal came from a penalty kick awarded in stoppage time, when Nathan Collins was given a straight red for denying Toney a goalscoring opportunity in the penalty box. Brentford are 15th but now have 30 points, nine clear of Burnley, who drop to 19th, one point behind Watford and Everton.

Everton 0-1 Wolverhampton. Conor Coady put a dagger in the heart of Evertonians, as he scored the only goal in Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 victory at Goodison Park, condemning Everton to a fourth straight Premier League defeat and real relegation fears. Everton came close to the opening goal in the 6th minute, but Richarlison was denied from six yards by Jose Sa. Sa made another reaction save on Demarai Gray in the 21st minute. The Wolves nearly scored twice before the end of the first half, but Joao Moutinho fired straight at Jordan Pickford from distance and Raul Jimenez's overhead kick was off target. Wolves went ahead just four minutes after the break when Coady headed in a Ruben Neves' cross, scoring his third goal of the season. Richarlison nearly leveled for Everton, but he just found the woodwork from Anthony Gordon's cross. Jonjoe Kenny sealed Everton's fate when he received two yellow cards in three minutes, forcing the Toffees to play the final 13 minutes with 10 men. Everton remain 17th, above Watford on goal difference, but with three matches in hand.

Leeds 2-1 Norwich City. Joe Gelhardt earned a place in Leed's history when he came on as a stoppage time substitute and scored deep into stoppage time, earning head coach Jesse Marsch a first Premier League victory over fellow relegation combatants Norwich City, 2-1. Rodrigo put Leeds into the lead in the 14th minute, finding the corner of the net with his first-time effort. The Whites missed several opportunities to double their lead and rightfully should have had this game out of contention, but Raphinha was denied by the woodwork in both halves and Patrick Bamford missed wide when through on goal. Somehow, Norwich stayed in close range and it appeared Kenny McLean had earned Norwich a point when he scored from close range in the first minute of stoppage time. But Gelhardt entered the match on the restart after Norwich's goal and slammed in Raphinha's cutback three minutes later to secure a vital three points for Leeds, which moves 16th-placed Leeds on to 26 points, four clear of the bottom three. Norwich remain bottom, with a run of six consecutive defeats leaving them on 17 points.


Southampton 1-2 Watford. Cucho Hernandez scored twice in the first half and Watford held on for a surprising 2-1 victory over Southampton, boosting the Hornets hopes of Premier League safety. Hernandez took advantage of an under hit backpass and went around Fraser Forster to open the scoring in the 14th minute. He then doubled their advantage in the 34th minute, volleying in Juraj Kucka's cross. Mohamed Elyounoussi got Southampton back in the match right before half, when Che Adams flicked James Ward-Prowse's free-kick on to Elyounoussi turned it in at the back post. From there the Watford defense was able to hold on, with Forster at full stretch to deny Kucka and Emmanuel Dennis narrowly missing wide for the Saints. Watford's first win in five matches moves them up to 18th, level on points with 17th-placed Everton, who have three matches in hand.


Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
15. Brentford 29 30
16. Leeds 29 26
17. Everton 26 22
18. Watford 29 22
19. Burnley 27 21
20. Norwich 29 17

Man, Everton's final 8 games are brutal.

The Thursday game snuck up on me, but a huge result for a 10 man Everton squad. They finally showed some resilience and heart. Busy week for me, but here are the weekend games of importance and Everton result:

Thursday Result:

Everton 1-0 Newcastle. Alex Iwobi struck a dramatic late winner as 10-man Everton moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Newcastle United. Everton had a strong start in a frenetic Goodison Park when Ben Godfrey headed Demarai Gray's orner straight at goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. But Newcastle much of the 1st half, reflected by their 67 per cent possession and six shots on target, but none troubled the Everton goal. Anthony Gordon's curling effort was saved by Dubravka as Everton pressed for the opening goal after the break. Their hopes looked to be dashed when Allan was dismissed on 83 minutes following a VAR review for a challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin. But Everton showed some guile that had been missing and dug in and late into stoppage time, Iwobi exchanged passes with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and drove in to the bottom corner. Everton's first win and clean sheet in five matches takes them to 25 points in 17th spot, three clear of third-bottom Watford and with two matches in hand.


Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
15. Brentford 29 30
16. Leeds 29 26
17. Everton 27 25
18. Watford 29 22
19. Burnley 27 21
20. Norwich 29 17

Light schedule this weekend due I believe to FA Cup. Two matches that involve Relegation battlers. No time for me today for write ups, but I do look forward to watching both matches over the weekend.

Friday Match:
Wolverhampton v. Leeds (Molineaux Stadium, 3pm, USA Network).

Sunday Match
Leicester v. Brentford (King Power Stadium, 9am, USA Network)

Enjoy the weekend!

I just saw highlights of that Everton game… man I love seeing a 10 man side score late to win. Might be my favorite thing in soccer.

And Leeds just went up 3-2 on Wolves in extra time to win.

Crazy game. Leeds had to spend 4 subs on injuries (1 was a concussion) - 3 of them in the first half. So many injuries that there was 19 mins of stoppage between both halves.

Leeds were down 0-2 in the second half when Raul Jimenez got sent off in a second yellow after colliding with and injuring the Leeds keeper and they clawed back to win.

Only 3 games over the weekend that impacted the relegation battle, but man, what a set of games it was. Everton's win, Leed's improbable comeback win and Brentford's near comeback were all great games for the neutral to watch. Brentford could have pulled out of the relegation battle with a win, but they will remain in the battle for now. Our bottom three teams (Burnley, Watford and Norwich)) need to start collecting points soon or we are going to have a very quick ending battle.

Weekend Results:

Thursday:
Everton 1-0 Newcastle. Alex Iwobi struck a dramatic late winner as 10-man Everton moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Newcastle United. Everton had a strong start in a frenetic Goodison Park when Ben Godfrey headed Demarai Gray's orner straight at goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. But Newcastle much of the 1st half, reflected by their 67 per cent possession and six shots on target, but none troubled the Everton goal. Anthony Gordon's curling effort was saved by Dubravka as Everton pressed for the opening goal after the break. Their hopes looked to be dashed when Allan was dismissed on 83 minutes following a VAR review for a challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin. But Everton showed some guile that had been missing and dug in and late into stoppage time, Iwobi exchanged passes with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and drove in to the bottom corner. Everton's first win and clean sheet in five matches takes them to 25 points in 17th spot, three clear of third-bottom Watford and with two matches in hand.

Friday:
Wolverhampton 2-3 Leeds. What. A. Game. Unbelievable game to watch, if you have not caught this one yet please go find it. As I saw someone say on twitter "watching a Jesse Marsch led Leeds team is much like watching a daredevil jump out of a plane, riding a motorcycle, with no parachute." Just unbelievable. Match never settled down over the 90 minutes (actually about 105 minutes due to all the injuries), just a continual phrenetic pace for the entirety of the match. Leeds United produced three goals in the last half-hour to come back from two goals down to beat 10-man Wolverhampton at Molineux. The visitors lost Patrick Bamford, Diego Llorente and Mateusz Klich, the latter to concussion, to injury in the first half. Wolves were also forced to replace Ruben Neves with Trincao, who created the opening goal on 26 minutes when he found Jonny on a sweet cross. Trincao then struck a post outside the box before he doubled Wolves' lead at the end of the first half, finishing off a cutback from Daniel Podence. Things looked bad for Leeds at half, but Raul Jimenez was shown a second yellow card early in the second half for a challenge on Leeds' keeper Illan Meslier, who had to be replaced by Kristoffer Klaesson. Leed's comeback began in the 63rd minute when Jack Harrison scored on the rebound after Luke Ayling had hit the post. Rodrigo leveled the match three minutes later when Wolves failed to clear the ball after Daniel James had hit the woodwork. The stage was set for Luke Ayling to provide the dramatic winner when he knocked in a stoppage winner time to earn Leeds back-to-back wins. Jesse Marsch's side move up to 29 points, seven clear of the bottom three.

Sunday:
Leicester 2-1 Brentford. Two wonderful goals from Timothy Castagne and James Maddison earned Leicester City a 2-1 victory over Brentford at King Power Stadium. Castagne broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion, 20 minutes in when he curled the ball into the top-right corner from the edge of the penalty area. Brentford almost hit back immediately, but Mathias Jensen was denied by the legs of Kasper Schmeichel. Leicester doubled their lead in the 33rd minute as Maddison whipped a fantastic free-kick over the wall and into the left corner of the net. Pontus Jansson and Bryan Mbeumo tried to get back into the match, as both forced Schmeichel into fine reaction saves from close-range headers. Yoane Wissa did bring Brentford back into the match with another special goal, as he fired in from outside the box, but Leicester held on to the victory. Brentford stay 15th on 30 points, eight above the relegation zone.

Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
15. Brentford 30 30
16. Leeds 30 29
17. Everton 27 25
18. Watford 29 22
19. Burnley 27 21
20. Norwich 29 17

So the relegation battle will take off a couple weeks as we go into an international break, and from there it will be a sprint to the finish for these six clubs.

With all the World Cup drama late last week, I elected not to try and do a pre-weekend post on the upcoming relegation games. This weekend provided more separation, leaving us a pretty clear bottom 4 clubs who seem destined to battle for relegation this season.

Relegation Standings prior to the Weekend:
Team GP Points
15. Brentford 30 30
16. Leeds 30 29
17. Everton 27 25
18. Watford 29 22
19. Burnley 27 21
20. Norwich 29 17

Weekend Results:

Liverpool 2-0 Watford. Liverpool got goals from Diogo Jota and Fabinho to secure a 2-0 home win over Watford.
Watford had a golden chance to take the lead as Juraj Kucka had a free run at goal in the 22nd minute, but Alisson was up to the task, and Liverpool quickly countered and scored at the other end. Joe Gomez delivered a cross and Jota arrived ahead of goalkeeper Ben Foster to head in. Watford nearly leveled when Joao Pedro fired just wide from 12 yards. But the Red secured all 3 points in the 89th minute when Kucka fouled Jota at a corner and substitute Fabinho converted the resulting penalty. Watford remain 18th, three points from safety, but having played two more matches than 17th-placed Everton.

Brighton 0-0 Norwich. Neal Maupay missed a penalty for Brighton & Hove Albion and the Seagulls were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Norwich City. Brighton were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute following a handball by Sam Byram, but Maupay blazed his spot-kick over the bar. Graham Potter's side went close again early in the second half as Joel Veltman's header was brilliantly tipped over by Tim Krul. Maupay then missed another opportunity as he fired into the side net. Milot Rashica shot over on the counter-attack late on for Norwich, but neither side could find a breakthrough. Norwich are winless in eight and remain bottom with 18 points, seven points behind 17th-placed Everton and having played an extra two matches.

Burnley 0-2 Manchester City. City secured a win at Turf Moor on goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan. City's opening goal came in just the fifth minute as Raheem Sterling cushioned the ball into the path of De Bruyne, who scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season. Twenty minutes later Sterling provided another assist, playing a one-two with De Bruyne and cutting the ball back for Gundogan to finish.
City missed chances to further the lead, coming closest when Gabriel Jesus's shot was deflected on to a post. Burnley remain 19th on 21 points, four from safety.

Chelsea 1-4 Brentford. Three quickfire goals including Christian Eriksen's first in the Premier League since 2019 helped Brentford stun Chelsea 4-1 for their first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1939. Chelsea took the lead in the 48th minute with a beautiful 35 yard strike from Antonio Rudiger. Brentford responded 100 seconds later as Vitaly Janelt scored a beautiful goal of his own from the edge of the area. The Bees then went in front in the 54th minute as Eriksen tucked in Bryan Mbeumo's cross from close range. Janelt then dinked Ivan Toney's through-ball over Edouard Mendy to score his second and substitute Yoane Wissa added a fourth with three minutes remaining. With the win, Brentford climb to 14th with 33 points after a third win in four matches, pulling themselves out of the relegation battle.

Leeds 1-1 Southampton. James Ward-Prowse scored the 13th direct free-kick of his Premier League career as Southampton and Leeds United drew 1-1 at Elland Road. Both teams had chances early with Diego Llorente heading a Leeds corner wide while Mohamed Elyounoussi shot straight at Leeds' keeper Illan Meslier. The Whites broke the deadlock when Jack Harrison reacted quickest to poke in a goal after Fraser Forster dropped a Leeds' cross. Southampton levelled the match in the 49th minute when Ward-Prowse arrowed his free-kick into the top-left corner. Both teams had their chances in a frenetic finish with Armanda Broja missing narrowly wide for Saints, before Raphinha dinked over the crossbar from inside the area. The draw means Leeds are 16th on 30 points, eight clear of the relegation zone.

West Ham 2-1 Everton. An Aaron Cresswell free-kick and a Jarrod Bowen strike secured a 2-1 win for West Ham United against 10-man Everton at London Stadium. West Ham went ahead in the 32nd minute on Cresswell's beautiful, curling strike into the top corner. Richarlison missed a great opportunity to equal eight minutes later, but his effort with the outside of his boot looped over goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and the crossbar. Everton were able to level the match in the 52nd minute when Mason Holgate fired a deflected effort beyond Fabianski. Bowen restored West Ham's lead just five minutes later, following up after Michail Antonio's initial shot was blocked by Jordan Pickford. Everton then went a man down in the 65th minute when Michael Keane was dismissed for a second yellow, allowing West Ham to comfortably see out the match. Everton go into Wednesday's match at Burnley in 17th place, three points above the relegation zone and four clear of the Clarets.




Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
14. Brentford 31 33
15. Newcastle 30 31
16. Leeds 31 30
17. Everton 28 25
18. Watford 30 22
19. Burnley 28 21
20. Norwich 30 18

This week is a huge one for the relegation battle. By Sunday we should know if we have much of a battle or if we have pretty much already determined our three relegation teams. There is only one midweek game, but it is a very important one.

Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
16. Leeds 31 30
17. Everton 28 25
18. Watford 30 22
19. Burnley 28 21
20. Norwich 30 18

Mid-Week Game (Wednesday):

Burnley v. Everton (1:30pm, Turf Moor, Peacock). Everton will make the short drive north to Burnley tonight to take on the Clarets in what it, to date, the biggest match of the 2021-2022 Relegation Battle. A Burnley win would see the Clarets pull within a point of 17th place Everton, while an Everton victory would see the Toffees open up a 6 point advantage over 18th place Watford and be 7 points clear of Burnley. Norwich and Watford will both be cheering on Burnley tonight to make the relegation battle a 4 team race. Everton manager Frank Lampard has had great success over Burnley as a manager, winning all three of his Premier League meetings with Burnley by an aggregate score of 10-2. Everton won the reverse fixture against Burnley 3-1 in September and will look to complete the Premier League double over the Clarets for the third time (2014-15 and 2018-19). Burnley have failed to score in their last four Premier League matches, losing each time, so they will come into this match desperate for goals and points.

Should be a great match!

If we're rooting for Leeds to stay up, do we want this to be a draw?

deadbq03 said:

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If we're rooting for Leeds to stay up, do we want this to be a draw?

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If rooting for Leeds, you'd want an Everton win to keep the gap at 8 pts to relegation zone. Burnley win will narrow the gap to 6 pts.

akm91 said:

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deadbq03 said:

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If we're rooting for Leeds to stay up, do we want this to be a draw?

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If rooting for Leeds, you'd want an Everton win to keep the gap at 8 pts to relegation zone. Burnley win will narrow the gap to 6 pts.

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Hmm. I think I like the numbers better for a draw. Gap stays at 8 and Everton stays uncomfortable.

Or I used this math in WCQ: I'd rather see my common opponents can get a combined 2 points than a combined 3.

deadbq03 said:

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akm91 said:

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deadbq03 said:

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If we're rooting for Leeds to stay up, do we want this to be a draw?

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If rooting for Leeds, you'd want an Everton win to keep the gap at 8 pts to relegation zone. Burnley win will narrow the gap to 6 pts.

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Hmm. I think I like the numbers better for a draw. Gap stays at 8 and Everton stays uncomfortable.

Or I used this math in WCQ: I'd rather see my common opponents can get a combined 2 points than a combined 3.

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Well honestly Leeds is almost completely out of the relegation battle. Another win and they are safe. But if you are really just in this to root for Leeds then you want the bottom 3 teams to get the fewest points, so you would root for Everton and that Burnley get nothing out of the game. The objective, if you are in this as a Leeds fan, is to put as much distance between yourself and the bottom 3.

Was rooting for Everton to lose, this would be unbelievable TV drama to have them in relegation zone till the end.

After 14 minutes today, they were down 0-1 to Burnley, unfortunately they scored twice to end up 2-1 at half

Aston94 said:

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deadbq03 said:

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akm91 said:

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deadbq03 said:

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If we're rooting for Leeds to stay up, do we want this to be a draw?

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If rooting for Leeds, you'd want an Everton win to keep the gap at 8 pts to relegation zone. Burnley win will narrow the gap to 6 pts.

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Hmm. I think I like the numbers better for a draw. Gap stays at 8 and Everton stays uncomfortable.

Or I used this math in WCQ: I'd rather see my common opponents can get a combined 2 points than a combined 3.

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Well honestly Leeds is almost completely out of the relegation battle. Another win and they are safe. But if you are really just in this to root for Leeds then you want the bottom 3 teams to get the fewest points, so you would root for Everton and that Burnley get nothing out of the game. The objective, if you are in this as a Leeds fan, is to put as much distance between yourself and the bottom 3.

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Fair enough, thanks for the patient explanation. I think my mind is stuck in a top of the table mindset, where you would want to minimize points gained by contenders lower than you.

Burnley comes back, down goes Everton, Everton is only 1 point away from relegation now

Current Relegation Standings:
Team GP Points
16. Leeds 31 30
17. Everton 29 25
18. Burnley 29 24
19. Watford 30 22
20. Norwich 30 18