As things stand, Sheff Utd, West Brom and Fulham are the bookmakers’ favourites for the drop and there has been little form any of these clubs in recent weeks that suggests otherwise.
However, relegation battles in the Premier league are rarely ever simple and one or two unexpected clubs often get dragged into the fight for survival. We’re going to take a look at some of the potential candidates for this season’s relegation battle in the Premier League based on their current proximity to the bottom three and their recent run of form.
We are not for one minute suggesting that Southampton will go down, but the Saints have to be acknowledged at this moment in time as they are in worse form than any other club in the Premier League. Southampton have lost each of their last five matches and as we all know, one of those defeats ended 9-0. However, the Saints have won eight games this season, which is more than all of the bottom three sides combined.
Palace are no strangers to a relegation battle and while they currently sit 13th in the table, the Eagles have lost three of their last five outings and their goal difference of -12 is worse than two of the sides sitting below them. However, like Southampton, Crystal Palace already have eight wins to their name and should have enough to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle this season.
Newcastle have picked up a couple of wins lately that have afforded Steve Bruce a little more breathing room, as the pressure was on the former Man Utd defender when his side were in the midst of a winless run. However, Newcastle are one of those sides that could be dragged into a survival battle as they have conceded more goals than Burnley, Fulham and Sheff Utd this season.
Brighton have finally started to pick up the results that their style of play deserves. The Seagulls have been high in the xG charts for most of the season but have struggled to put the ball into the back of the net at times. Currently, the club are unbeaten in their last five league games, picking up three wins and two draws and boast the best goal difference of the bottom 12 sides. With all that in mind, Brighton should have enough about them to avoid a relegation battle, but if they slip back into their old ways, it could prove costly.
Shaun Dyche has been working on a very limited budget this season and at one stage Burnley looked destined to go down. However, the results have started to come for Dyche and co with Burnley winning two, drawing one and losing two of their last five fixtures. Burnley do still remain the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season and this is a huge concern, but only Arsenal have conceded fewer goals in the bottom half of the table and this is something Burnley have to use to their advantage.
The stats don’t look good for any of the bottom three clubs and their chances of escaping relegation this season. Sheff Utd are the only side in the bottom three who have won any of their last five matches, West Brom still concede far too many goals and Fulham have drawn too many games. Though nothing is set in stone, it does look like a tough ask for any of these teams to escape the drop this season, unless their form drastically changes and they start taking points off the teams around them.