The bottom end of the English Premier League ladder looks genuinely exciting with eight games to play, as five points separate 13th to 19th, with West Brom sitting 20th and seemingly destined to go down.
Let’s take a look at who is likely to be joining them in the Championship next season.
Current ladder
13. Newcastle United – 32 points, -10 goal difference
14. Swansea – 31 points, -17 goal difference
15. Huddersfield – 31 points, -25 goal difference
16 West Ham – 30 points, -21 goal difference
17. Southampton – 28 points, -15 goal difference
18. Crystal Palace – 27 points, -20 goal difference
19. Stoke City – 27 points, -28 goal difference
20. West Brom – 20 points, -24 goal difference
Newcastle United
Spurs (a), Huddersfield (h), Leicester (a), Arsenal (a), Everton (h) West Brom (a), Watford (a), Chelsea (h)
Following their promotion from the Championship last season, Newcastle would have expected to be facing a bit of a dogfight towards the back end of the season, but they’re unfortunate to be 13th yet still in the scrap.
They started the campaign relatively well, but went through quite a poor period between the 31st October and the 16th December, piecing together a single draw.
The Magpies seem to be doing enough of late to secure their position in the top flight but they do have one of the harder runs to the finish line.
Huddersfield and Leicester will be a good indication of the character of the squad, and how badly they want to stay in the Premier League. It’s well and truly in their hands.
Swansea
Southampton (h), Manchester United (a), West Brom (a), Everton (h), Manchester City (a), Chelsea (h), Bournemouth (a), Stoke (h)
Paul Clement was sacked in December, with the team languishing last. Carlos Carvalhal was the man to guide Swansea to safety and he’s repaid the board’s faith with some fantastic results, including vital consecutive wins against Liverpool and Arsenal in January.
The team is playing well and they seem to be right up for the fight. Mental toughness is as vital as anything as the curtain come down on the long season.
Huddersfield
Crystal Palace (h), Newcastle (a), Brighton (a), Watord (h), Chelsea (a), Everton (h), Manchester City (a), Arsenal (h)
Another of the teams promoted from the Championship unsurprisingly see themselves in the battle for survival.
Huddersfield recruited strongly in the off-season, securing Aaron Mooy – who was pivotal in their pursuit of Premier League status last term – alongside Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre, who scored 13 goals between them in a team that has struggled to find the back of the net.
The Terriers were able to break a five-game losing streak in February, with a 4-1 demolition of Bournemouth, which has seemingly re-instilled belief in the team.
Failure to break down an incredibly stubborn ten-man Swansea on the weekend could come back to haunt them, but Mooy has returned after a big gash to his knee, and he could be the man to guide them to safety.
They will need to get the most out of their next four fixtures, all of which are relegation battlers (Brighton could be drawn into it if things don’t go their way), because the last month looks punishing.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
West Ham
Manchester United (h), Southampton (h), Chelsea (a), Stoke (h), Arsenal (a), Manchester City (h), Leicester (a), Everton (h)
The Hammers are an absolute shambles at present, evident by the disgusting behaviour on display the past weekend, where fans stormed the pitch multiple times and the co-owners were forced to leave their box for their own safety. These issues could have big implications for their survival.
Things were looking good at the end of January, where they were as high as 11th, but it went south quickly, and there doesn’t seem to be a change in sight.
An incredibly tough run home, coupled with disharmony between many factions of the club could well see them relegated after a stretch of six seasons in the Premier League.
Southampton
Swansea (a), West Ham (a), Arsenal (a), Chelsea (h), Leicester (a), Bournemouth (h), Everton (a), Manchester City (h)
Mauricio Pellegrino was sacked at of the end of Round 30, with the board desperate for results after five wins and a league-high 13 draws.
Toothless displays and the inability to get over the line forced the board’s hand. Losing Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool was a massive blow, but they failed to reinvest that $75 million effectively.
Mark Hughes is seemingly the leading candidate to take over, having already been sacked by Stoke this season. Could his arrival be the shake up the squad needs?
Crystal Palace
Huddersfield (a), Liverpool (h), Bournemouth (a), Brighton (h), Watford (a), Leicester (h), Stoke (a), West Brom (h)
Sam Allardyce resigned at the 2016-17 season’s end, replaced by Frank de Boer, who was sacked following a goalless opening four games, replaced by Roy Hodgson.
The former England manager’s first games in charge saw Palace leak ten goals in three games (mind you, this included both Manchester sides, who were scoring at will) but a victory against Chelsea showed that his work was paying off.
They reached a lofty 12th on the ladder in the middle of January, but four losses on the trot has the hard work falling apart.
Their remaining fixture is quite friendly, and a win over Huddersfield would certainly have players believing they can stay up.
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Stoke
Everton (h), Arsenal (a), Tottenham (h), West Ham (a), Burnley (h), Liverpool (a), Crystal Palace (h), Swansea (a)
Stoke started the season with a win over Arsenal and a draw with Manchester United, but they copped four against Chelsea, seven against Manchester City, five against Tottenham, and a further five against Chelsea to end the year.
Paul Lambert replaced Mark Hughes, but it’s hard to argue he changed fortunes for the club, having only registered the one win since taking over after seven games – just not enough for a club that would not have expected to be in this position.
West Brom
Bournemouth (a), Burnley (h), Swansea (h), Manchester United (a), Newcastle (a), Tottenham (h), Crystal Palace (a)
It was a relatively good opening two months for West Brom, having recorded wins in the opening two fixtures and sitting tenth, but it has all fallen apart since, with just one win outside the opening two weeks of football.
Their away record is atrocious, with seven goals scored from 15 games, where they managed one win, four draws and ten losses. Their home record isn’t much better either.
There is no way to sugarcoat the season, or find any positives. They sacked Tony Pulis in November after a defeat to Chelsea, but they have hardly improved under Alan Pardrew, with six consecutive losses at the time of writing all but guaranteeing them to be going down.
A disappointing season, they should start planning their next campaign now.
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