The battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League is intensifying with every kick and this weekend’s games leave us no closer to knowing which sides will be playing in the Championship next season.
Five teams remain in the fight for survival. Burnley’s recent resurgence following the sacking of Sean Dyche has been impressive and their win at home to Wolves saw them exit the relegation zone at the expense of Everton, who lost 2-0 in the Merseyside derby.
Frank Lampard’s side do have a game in hand, however. Leeds, in 16th, face Crystal Palace tonight. A win will give them a seven-point buffer above the drop zone but lose and they’ll remain embroiled in the dogfight with a difficult run-in.
Things are looking ominous for Watford and Norwich, who, after heavy defeats on Saturday, are getting cast adrift. Hope will remain, though, while survival is still mathematically possible.
Premier League spots are worth tens — if not hundreds — of millions of dollars, so when it comes to promotion and relegation in the English top-flight, everything is on the line.
Entering the stretch run of the 2021-22 season, the battles for places in next season’s Premier League are heating up.
In the Premier League, two teams seem destined for relegation with the third team to go down coming from one of Everton, Burnley or Leeds United.
In the second division Championship, there is one more automatic promotion spot to the Premier League up for grabs after Fulham FC clinched the first one. The next four best teams in the table will advance to the promotion playoff, which will decide the third and final team to earn the jump to the Premier League next season.
Norwich City and Watford are all but assured of going down. The third and final trap door to the Championship will see one of Burnley, Everton or Leeds United facing the drop. Burnley has surged with two wins in two to jump out of the relegation race, with Everton now the favorites to fall to the Championship.
Everton has a game in hand, but a brutal fixture list to end the season leaves the Toffees in a terrible spot. Leeds is four points clear of the drop, but will need to remain vigilant to stave off relegation.
Newcastle, under new ownership, spent big money to improve their squad in the January transfer window and it paid off with a nine-match unbeaten streak erasing their probability of relegation from a high of 66 percent in midseason. The Magpies are now completely out of the relegation picture and aiming for a top-10 finish.
