EPL relegation battle: Who will survive? - 7M sport

EPL relegation battle: Who will survive?



Posted Monday, May 08, 2017 by foxsportsasia.com

It’s going down to the wire in the scrap to avoid the dreaded drop from the Premier League, with several teams battling it out.

Middlesbrough, Swansea City, Hull City and Crystal Palace are doing their utmost to avoid the Championship, but as we reach the last two weeks of the season who has got what it takes to make it over the line?

FOX Sports Asia assesses the chances of the contenders in the battle for survival.

Middlesbrough

Out of the teams trying to avoid joining Sunderland in the Championship next season, Boro are the ones that look beyond hope. With three games to go – one of them against Chelsea – and seven points from safety, Boro need to win all three – and then hope none of the other teams pick up points. Defeat at Chelsea on Monday could seal their fate.

This would be a tough ask if the Teessiders were rattling in the goals, but scoring has been a problem all season and it’s doubtful they suddenly discover the firepower to do it now.

Verdict: Doomed. Following Swansea’s win at home to Everton anything but a win at Chelsea will see Boro down. Pull off the improbable and they still need to win two more, so it’s bye-bye Boro!

Hull City

Hull suffered a huge blow to their survival hopes on Saturday with Swansea winning and the Tigers suffering a shock 2-0 home reverse to the already doomed Sunderland – a real surprise given their excellent home form since Marco Silva took the reins. With an away game at Crystal Palace and then Spurs at home, it’s looking extremely difficult for them, but with Swansea just a point ahead then one win could prove to be enough.

A lot depends on whether they can grab an elusive away win at Palace, who are themselves still in the fight. It promises to be an interesting couple of weeks.

Verdict: Going down. Credit must go to Silva for even getting Hull into a position where they have a chance of survival, and if he does achieve the unthinkable then they should probably rename a stand after him. On paper though, it looks like Hull will struggle to pick up points in their remaining fixtures and relegation awaits.

Swansea City

A vital win against the Toffees has given Paul Clement’s men real hope of avoiding the drop, something that looked unlikely when he took over from Bob Bradley.

With two wins and a draw from their last three games, the Swans look like they have hit form at just the right time, although a trip to Sunderland will be the litmus test. Get something from that game and with a final game at home to a struggling West Brom side, they will probably just manage to survive.

Verdict: Survival. Clement has worked a miracle since arriving at the Liberty Stadium and with two winnable fixtures remaining it looks like he may just achieve his brief and save the Swans from the drop.

Crystal Palace

Big Sam is another man who has worked wonders since arriving at Selhurst Park with his tail between his legs after this England debacle.

It took a while for his trademark transfer window signings to get going, but since then Mamadou Sakho and co have managed to turn it around for Allardyce with some big wins – most notably over Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. It’s against bottom half of the table opposition where Palace have struggled.

Verdict: Survival. A run of three defeats has come at the wrong time for Palace, but with a four-point breathing space over Hull and a game against the Tigers at home next up, they have probably already done enough. Palace know that a draw against Hull will ensure survival and they will get it.

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