Relegation Battle in the Premier League

Lay said:
I think its weird for many because Everton haven't been relegated since 1951! They're a constant top flight team but I felt the same about Villa.
Click to expand...

Going to all the parties where the pretty people hang out doesn't make you pretty yourself.

However, you dare say they'll bin Frankie off, employ someone like Dyche, Big Sam or some other dog fighter, and stay up.

You felt they'd nailed it that season they had the likes of James managed by Ancelotti, but it fell apart oh too quickly.
 
I think Everton are in disarray at board level and a manager change can’t save them.
The other two probably Bournemouth and Southampton. The cherry’s seem to have become the yo-yo club , to good for championship but not PL ready. Hassenhuttl seems to have presided over steady decline at Saints and I’m not confident Jones can get them out of trouble given his record at Stoke. I also think the other teams around them have enough to get away with it.
 
Palace could be in the mix by April. Every side they play between now and then is in the top 10 aside from Villa who are on the up. 8/9 games against top 10 sides.

We have Arsenal and Liverpool after West Ham so a win vs them is absolutely vital or we are in serious trouble. 3/8 games until April against top 10 sides.

West Ham also have a tough run up to April. 5/8 games against top 10 sides up to April.

Bournemouth have 5/8 games against top 10 sides.

Wolves have 5/8 games against top 10 sides.

Leicester have 6/8 games against top 10 sides.

Leeds have 4/8 games against top 10 sides.

Forest have 4/8 games against top 10 sides.

I think this is important as the gap between the quality of the top 10 and the bottom 10 this year is quite big. There is a clear gulf in the performances on the pitch and with the sides that aren't doing well like Liverpool and Chelsea, at their worst this season they still have enough to beat most teams, if not all in that bottom half.

Looking at that too it's even more vital we change our manager. Playing the most bottom half teams of any others leading up to April is an advantage and could give us a cushion if we make a change and pick up some wins.
 
It's crazy looking at the table, about 8 teams look like they could be in the relegation battle. It's nearly the entire bottom who don't look comfortably above the drop zone.

I compared with last year, Palace were in 12th last season at this point too but 12 points above the drop zone now its only 6
 
All you need to do this year to stay up is work a bit harder than the other team in every game. Don’t need to play good football, don’t need to have better players.
 
Think Everton will unfortunately win enough points to stay up again
 
Before last year wasn’t it about 1997 where Everton were really close to going down? They’re a mainstay in the league and I hope they stay up.
I’d prefer to see Bournemouth, wolves and West Ham go down
 
What a wild relegation battle this is shaping up to be. Only 3 points separating 14th and 20th right now.
 
SilentWitness said:
Palace could be in the mix by April. Every side they play between now and then is in the top 10 aside from Villa who are on the up. 8/9 games against top 10 sides.

We have Arsenal and Liverpool after West Ham so a win vs them is absolutely vital or we are in serious trouble. 3/8 games until April against top 10 sides.

West Ham also have a tough run up to April. 5/8 games against top 10 sides up to April.

Bournemouth have 5/8 games against top 10 sides.

Wolves have 5/8 games against top 10 sides.

Leicester have 6/8 games against top 10 sides.

Leeds have 4/8 games against top 10 sides.

Forest have 4/8 games against top 10 sides.

I think this is important as the gap between the quality of the top 10 and the bottom 10 this year is quite big. There is a clear gulf in the performances on the pitch and with the sides that aren't doing well like Liverpool and Chelsea, at their worst this season they still have enough to beat most teams, if not all in that bottom half.

Looking at that too it's even more vital we change our manager. Playing the most bottom half teams of any others leading up to April is an advantage and could give us a cushion if we make a change and pick up some wins.
Click to expand...

Palace
Chelsea 1–0 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Manchester United
Crystal Palace 0–0 Newcastle United
Manchester United 2–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford 1–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion - Crystal Palace
Arsenal - Crystal Palace

Forest
AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester City

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle United

Leicester
Leicester City 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 2-4 Leicester City

Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City

Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal

Southampton 1-0 Leicester City

Leicester City 1-3 Chelsea

Brentford 15:00 Leicester City

Wolves
Manchester City 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Liverpool

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

Fulham 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Liverpool 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Newcastle United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Everton
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Arsenal

Liverpool 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Everton 0-2 Aston Villa

Arsenal 4-0 Everton

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton

Everton 1-0 Brentford

Chelsea 17:30 Everton

Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle United

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Manchester City

Arsenal 3-2 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool

Aston Villa 15:00 AFC Bournemouth

West Ham
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United

West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 West Ham United

West Ham United 1-1 Aston Villa

Manchester City 16:30 West Ham United

Leeds
Leeds United 0-0 Brentford

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Manchester United 2-2 Leeds United

Leeds United 0-2 Manchester United

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Chelsea 1-0 Leeds United

Leeds United 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Southampton
Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa

Brentford 3-0 Southampton

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea 0-1 Southampton

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Southampton 1-0 Leicester City

Manchester United 0-0 Southampton

Southampton 19:30 Brentford

Southampton 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur

So since posting this we have seen a couple of manager changes but it's very tight at the bottom. Leeds and Palace are in the worst form with no wins. Us, Wolves and Leicester all have two wins. Southampton, Bournemouth, West Ham and Forest with one. No team has much of an 'easy run' either. All very loseable games for each club. If a side goes on a little run of good form now (which no side has this month) up to April they'll be in a good position to the end of the season.

Happy to update this throughout.
 
Last edited:
Kind of ridiculous there is still 9 clubs that could go down. We don't even have a Norwich or a Sheffield who looked definitely to be going down at that stage in the last two seasons.
 
Everton were safe as soon as they got rid of lampard and replaced him with a proper manager for me. I can't see it happening but I'd love the current bottom three be the ones that go down.

On a side note I bet Palace to get relegated at 12/1 last week. As the odds suggest it's unlikely but they do have some nasty fixtures coming up so could get a run for my money.
 
SilentWitness said:
Palace
Chelsea 1–0 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Manchester United
Crystal Palace 0–0 Newcastle United
Manchester United 2–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford 1–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
Aston Villa - Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace - Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion - Crystal Palace
Arsenal - Crystal Palace

Forest
AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester City

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 14:00 Everton

Tottenham Hotspur 15:00 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle United

Leicester
Leicester City 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 2-4 Leicester City

Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City

Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal

Southampton 17:30 Leicester City

Leicester City 15:00 Chelsea

Brentford 15:00 Leicester City

Wolves
Manchester City 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Liverpool

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

Fulham 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Liverpool 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur

Newcastle United 16:30 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Everton
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Arsenal

Liverpool 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Everton 0-2 Aston Villa

Arsenal 4-0 Everton

Nottingham Forest 14:00 Everton

Everton 15:00 Brentford

Chelsea 17:30 Everton

Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle United

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Manchester City

Arsenal 15:00 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth12:30 Liverpool

Aston Villa 15:00 AFC Bournemouth

West Ham
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United

West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 15:00 West Ham United

West Ham United 14:00 Aston Villa

Manchester City 16:30 West Ham United

Leeds
Leeds United 0-0 Brentford

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Manchester United 2-2 Leeds United

Leeds United 0-2 Manchester United

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Chelsea 15:00 Leeds United

Leeds United 15:00 Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Southampton
Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa

Brentford 3-0 Southampton

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea 0-1 Southampton

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Southampton 17:30 Leicester City

Manchester United 15:00 Southampton

Southampton 19:30 Brentford

Southampton 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur

So since posting this we have seen a couple of manager changes but it's very tight at the bottom. Leeds and Palace are in the worst form with no wins. Us, Wolves and Leicester all have two wins. Southampton, Bournemouth, West Ham and Forest with one. No team has much of an 'easy run' either. All very loseable games for each club. If a side goes on a little run of good form now (which no side has this month) up to April they'll be in a good position to the end of the season.

Happy to update this throughout.
Click to expand...

Terrible week for us. I was banking on us beating Villa so the Forest game now becomes an absolute must win. We cannot afford to lose or draw that. I'm pretty resigned to us going down now though. I thought Maupay would be a decent backup striker for us but dear lord, he's terrible as a lone frontman with the wingers we have which makes it quite a disturbing transfer decision. If we had goalscoring wingers with pace, fine, but the McNeil and Maupay signings are the complete opposite to what they provide for each other. We will go down and the lack of a striker is why. I think Dyche has been largely good so far but he needs a striker to make the system successful. The only thing I don't get from his tenure so far is not playing Simms instead of Maupay. The former is raw but Maupay currently offers absolutely nothing.
 
Soton are a cert. You can’t run a club like they do and stay up.
I reckon Wolves might be a dark horse to go down and Leeds just seem to leak goals now.
 
Agreed that Southampton seem doomed. I also think Bournemouth will go down even before the last game. Third spot can be down to the wire and matter of a single point, at this point I'd bet on Leeds being relegated, but still can see Everton, Wolves or Nottingham going down.
 
Red Star One said:
Agreed that Southampton seem doomed. I also think Bournemouth will go down even before the last game. Third spot can be down to the wire and matter of a single point, at this point I'd bet on Leeds being relegated, but still can see Everton, Wolves or Nottingham going down.
Click to expand...
Southampton, Bournemouth & Leeds for me….though I’d like to see Wolves go, there’s something undeniably miserable about them that I’d like to see consigned to the championship.

Everton seem to be in this spot every single year, but miraculously never end up going down. Plus I’d actually like Dyche to keep them up, he’s so maligned that I’ve actually started to root for him
 
Would love it if Wolves go down. Hate playing them and it seems like we play them 5 times each season, also due to the shady dealings of the Portugese agent.
 
hUp9fom.jpg


Still very close, just 4 points separating 19th to 13th. Forest and Leicester still seem like they have enough to stay up, I would not consider Palace. It's looking like from Wolves downward. I'd love to see West Ham go down but they should be able to just stay out of it.

Wolves, Leeds, Everton Bournemouth and Southampton. Could be a huge battle between Leeds and Everton. Dyche had a good start so hopefully he can get a few more results.

Would be crazy to have a bottom 4 of West Ham, Leeds Everton Southampton.
 
redshaw said:
hUp9fom.jpg


Still very close, just 4 points separating 19th to 13th. Forest and Leicester still seem like they have enough to stay up, I would not consider Palace. It's looking like from Wolves downward. I'd love to see West Ham go down but they should be able to just stay out of it.

Wolves, Leeds, Everton Bournemouth and Southampton. Could be a huge battle between Leeds and Everton. Dyche had a good start so hopefully he can get a few more results.

Would be crazy to have a bottom 4 of West Ham, Leeds Everton Southampton.
Click to expand...

Palace haven't won a game in 2023. Their games this month are Villa, City, Brighton and Arsenal. I think they're a good team when they're on it but they're definitely still in the mix.
 
I’ll say this till I’m blue in the face. Most of Chelsea last 10 games are against the top sides in the league and then the easier games are away to Wolves or Brentford who aren’t that easy to beat anyway.
Chelsea are 100 percent in this if they don’t win at least two of the games before that run starts
 
SilentWitness said:
Palace haven't won a game in 2023. Their games this month are Villa, City, Brighton and Arsenal. I think they're a good team when they're on it but they're definitely still in the mix.
Click to expand...

Yes it's a good shout. I still think some of their players are quite strong.

Palace got 4 points from Man City last season, they can raise their game but could mean nothing this year. They need Zaha back.
 
cyberman said:
I’ll say this till I’m blue in the face. Most of Chelsea last 10 games are against the top sides in the league and then the easier games are away to Wolves or Brentford who aren’t that easy to beat anyway.
Chelsea are 100 percent in this if they don’t win at least two of the games before that run starts
Click to expand...
There is not a prayer they're in a relegation fight. With that squad being 10 points ahead. Zero chance.
 
Prediction: Southampton Bournemouth Leeds
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
There is not a prayer they're in a relegation fight. With that squad being 10 points ahead. Zero chance.
Click to expand...
They’ve been in relegation form for 3 months now?!
Where is their next win coming from? The problem is now if they don’t pick up these immediate wins that they’re giving up points to those behind them. That’s why Chelsea are in this with my argument. They’re not in it now but it won’t be 10 points for much longer if they keep this up
 
cyberman said:
They’ve been in relegation form for 3 months now?!
Where is their next win coming from? The problem is now if they don’t pick up these immediate wins that they’re giving up points to those behind them. That’s why Chelsea are in this with my argument. They’re not in it now but it won’t be 10 points for much longer if they keep this up
Click to expand...

They're being helped by the fact that nobody around is winning either though. The most games won so far in the league by teams in the relegation mix is two.
 
SilentWitness said:
They're being helped by the fact that nobody around is winning either though. The most games won so far in the league by teams in the relegation mix is two.
Click to expand...
I don’t think they’ll get relegated but 6 goals since November and their attack getting even worse throws them in this mix never mind Silva being injured for 6 weeks on top.
Leeds are in a relegation battle, if they beat Chelsea this weekend they’ll only be 6 behind them. They’re away to Leicester next, Everton travel to SB the game after that.
That’s their problem. If they drop points on this easy run they’re dropping points to those teams behind them.
Chelsea aren’t in it now but they’re teetering on the brink.
 
cyberman said:
They’ve been in relegation form for 3 months now?!
Where is their next win coming from? The problem is now if they don’t pick up these immediate wins that they’re giving up points to those behind them. That’s why Chelsea are in this with my argument. They’re not in it now but it won’t be 10 points for much longer if they keep this up
Click to expand...
The win is coming today. They'll beat Leeds and climb up the table.
 
redshaw said:
hUp9fom.jpg


Still very close, just 4 points separating 19th to 13th. Forest and Leicester still seem like they have enough to stay up, I would not consider Palace. It's looking like from Wolves downward. I'd love to see West Ham go down but they should be able to just stay out of it.

Wolves, Leeds, Everton Bournemouth and Southampton. Could be a huge battle between Leeds and Everton. Dyche had a good start so hopefully he can get a few more results.

Would be crazy to have a bottom 4 of West Ham, Leeds Everton Southampton.
Click to expand...

Palace have been in roughly that place in the table for about 10 years. They'll be fine imo.
Forest are going to keep improving, getting the squad settled quickly was their obstacle and they've cleared it. They'll be fine.
Think Leicester, Wolves and West Ham have too much to go down, managers are too competent to feck it up enough to finish below leeds imo.
Think its between the remaining 4.
Think southampton are pretty crap and their manager was the only thing they had going for them. They're doomed imo.
 
If Southampton win that’s 4 points separating the bottom 7. It’s gonna be a tight one.

Bournemouth, Southampton & Leeds go down if I had to choose…but West Ham also look horrific currently.
 
Want to see wolves, West Ham and Everton go

don’t particularly enjoy playing West Ham or wolves. And Everton have just been a mess for what seems a long time.

left out Leeds but it’s great beating them. They’re no threat.

Bournemouth and Southampton too me at least are more likeable teams

I actually think Bournemouth Southampton and Leeds will go.
 
if Leeds go down that's good enough, will feel like a title. Hate that club as much as any.
 
6 points between rock bottom and 12th. Easy to see any three teams in the bottom half apart from Villa going down.
 
Bournemouth and Southampton for me are nailed on, they have the weakest two first XIs in the league.

The third position is hard to predict. I thought it'd be Forest but they've bought 5 squads of players to stay up, and Cooper's a good manager. West Ham and Leicester are underperforming relative to their team.

So that leaves Everton, Leeds, Wolves. The weakest I would say is Leeds. Everton and Wolves have more to their first XIs, but with bad form it could be them instead of Leeds.
 
Looks tougher than it probably is.

The clubs that are in deep trouble are Palace, Leeds and Bournemouth.

Edit: Bit harsh on Palace maybe, they've actually performed as expected, but their winless run is long!
 
Last edited:
It would be fun if Leicester, WHU and Everton go down.
 
SilentWitness said:
Palace
Chelsea 1–0 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Manchester United
Crystal Palace 0–0 Newcastle United
Manchester United 2–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford 1–1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion - Crystal Palace
Arsenal - Crystal Palace

Forest
AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester City

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle United

Leicester
Leicester City 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 2-4 Leicester City

Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City

Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal

Southampton 1-0 Leicester City

Leicester City 1-3 Chelsea

Brentford 15:00 Leicester City

Wolves
Manchester City 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Liverpool

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

Fulham 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Liverpool 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Newcastle United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Everton
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Arsenal

Liverpool 2-0 Everton

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Everton 0-2 Aston Villa

Arsenal 4-0 Everton

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton

Everton 1-0 Brentford

Chelsea 17:30 Everton

Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle United

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Manchester City

Arsenal 3-2 AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool

Aston Villa 15:00 AFC Bournemouth

West Ham
West Ham United 2-0 Everton

Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United

West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United

West Ham United 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 West Ham United

West Ham United 1-1 Aston Villa

Manchester City 16:30 West Ham United

Leeds
Leeds United 0-0 Brentford

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

Manchester United 2-2 Leeds United

Leeds United 0-2 Manchester United

Everton 1-0 Leeds United

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Chelsea 1-0 Leeds United

Leeds United 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leeds United

Southampton
Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa

Brentford 3-0 Southampton

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea 0-1 Southampton

Leeds United 1-0 Southampton

Southampton 1-0 Leicester City

Manchester United 0-0 Southampton

Southampton 19:30 Brentford

Southampton 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur

So since posting this we have seen a couple of manager changes but it's very tight at the bottom. Leeds and Palace are in the worst form with no wins. Us, Wolves and Leicester all have two wins. Southampton, Bournemouth, West Ham and Forest with one. No team has much of an 'easy run' either. All very loseable games for each club. If a side goes on a little run of good form now (which no side has this month) up to April they'll be in a good position to the end of the season.

Happy to update this throughout.
Click to expand...

So Southampton vs Brentford and Palace vs Brighton are the second last round of fixtures before the final round of fixtures that will wrap everything up before April. If we manage to beat Chelsea we will put ourselves in a great position. Us and Wolves have won the most games in this mini-run.

Leeds and Forest with only one win and Palace still winless in this mini-run.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.