It’s the part of the season that every team wishes they could avoid in the Premier League, but the business end of the campaign is not just about the title race, it also involves the dreaded relegation battle.
Like it or not, three teams will face the drop to the Championship come the end of the campaign, but with a few weeks left to salvage some key points, and an incredibly close bottom half of the table, it’s still anyone’s guess as to who goes down come May.
Indeed, the football betting odds are having a tough time with who will get relegated this season. No team in the entire bottom eight has shown enough consistency to genuinely consider themselves safe just yet, and with some exciting battles and relegation three-pointers on the horizon, it’s a narrative that could go right down to the wire.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Premier League sides in the hottest of water and assess their chances of survival this season. Read on to find out more.
Southampton
We’re sure in a few years, Nathan Jones will be remembered as one of the strangest managerial appointments in Premier League history. Southampton struggled in the last days of Ralph Hasenhüttl and found themselves bottom of the league, but then went and signed a coach from Luton Town with no top-flight experience who completely juxtaposed their style of play. The Saints have since dismissed Jones from his duty and now begin their search for survival in 20th but without a manager that suggested playing against a 10-man Wolves at home was to their own detriment.
Bournemouth
You often wonder how different Bournemouth’s season would have looked had they not been thrashed 9-0 by Liverpool at Anfield at the end of August. The trigger was pulled on Scott Parker within the first few games but while the initial honeymoon period of Gary O’Neil in charge saw some impressive results, the 39-year-old has been exposed for the rather mediocre coach that he is, with the Cherries in 19th.
They looked to salvage some hope with several big-money moves in January including exciting midfielder Hamed Junior Traore, but the squad still lacks the quality to really compete in the Premier League, and that has become apparent to the fans in the Vitality Stadium, where often empty seats are visible despite the 12,000 capacity being the lowest in the league.
Everton
The team in the relegation zone with perhaps the best chance of survival is 18th place Everton. Sean Dyche has managed to breathe new life into an energetic Everton team, and if he can continue to make Goodison Park a fortress then Everton could become as hard to beat as Dyche’s Burnley. Equipped with a more talented bunch than his days at Turf Moor, Dyche still has some of his old-guard from the Clarets in Dwight McNeil, Michael Keane and James Tarkowski, but the quality of Amadou Onana and Dominic Calvert-Lewin mean he has plenty of potential if he can build on the win over Arsenal in his first game. Dyche is the most experienced manager in the bottom half and known as a relegation specialist — he should have enough to keep Everton afloat.
