tTeams struggling to overcome the drop strive to reach the magic 40-point mark as the season progresses. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief once the historic figure has been reached, happy to be safe for another Premier League campaign. Although, with so many of the best players stored by clubs at the top of the table, where the points total is increasing, the teams at the bottom increasingly do not need to win 40 points to stay on top. Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Everton overcame the drop last season without reaching 40 points. Several clubs could do the same this season, perhaps even the same clubs.
West Brom set a record when they stayed ahead with only 34 points in the 2004-05 season. They beat Portsmouth 2-0 on the final day of the campaign, pulling off the greatest of escapes and condemning Southampton, Norwich and Crystal Palace to relegation. That total remains the lowest earned by a team that has avoided relegation. He could be challenged this season.
As things stand, six teams are struggling to overcome the drop (Sheffield United, Burnley, Luton, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Everton) and none of them inspire much confidence. Brentford's 4-2 defeat against West Ham Monday night leaves the Bees nervously looking over their shoulders in the middle of a series of test games. They are only five points from the relegation zone, on the same level as Everton, from whom they had points deducted. reduced from 10 to six on Monday. That was a big boost for Sean Dyche's team but, with more charges hanging over his head, they are not out of the woods yet.
Nottingham Forest also face the prospect of a points deduction, having been found guilty of breaching profitability and sustainability rules last month. As things stand, Forest are in 17th place, one point behind Everton and Brentford and, at the moment, they have a four-point advantage over the relegation zone.
The three promoted teams, Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton, are in relegation positions. At the end of the season, they could even swap places with Leicester, Leeds and Southampton, the three teams they replaced this season. Luton are in the best position to stay awake. They are four points behind Forest and have a game in hand on their relegation rivals. But his form has dropped a lot in recent weeks. A three-game losing streak including a shock 3-1 home defeat to Sheffield United – has Rob Edwards' side uneasy.
We're only in February, but Sheffield United and Burnley already look relegated. Both played 26 games, lost 19 of them and managed only 13 points along the way. Neither team has worked all season. They are 11 points from safety and appear to be out of reach in the top flight. Even the new manager's famous rebound couldn't help Sheffield United, with Chris Wilder's return to Bramall Lane not achieve the desired effect. His most notable contribution has been a fight with an assistant referee. on a sandwich.
Burnley have been loyal to Vincent Kompany and his style of play, but that hasn't helped them win many games. They dazzled in the championship last season, scoring no less than 101 points and losing only three of their 46 games. However, the gulf in quality between the second division and the top flight has been painfully evident: they have lost 73% of their games this season, compared to 6% last season. Burnley He recruited players to suit Kompany's approach in the summer, but his naivety has proven costly.
The clubs above Sheffield United And Burnley are lucky to have been so bad. The form guide suggests that Luton, Everton, Brentford and Nottingham Forest all deserve to be locked in a relegation fight. None of them won over the weekend, an increasingly familiar sight. The bottom six clubs have won just four games between them in their last 36 games.
In Europe's top five leagues, Everton They are currently on the fifth-longest winless streak (nine games), with Burnley (eight games) in sixth place. Meanwhile, Sheffield United concede the most shots per game (17.2) in Europe, closely followed by Luton (17.1). Sheffield United and Burnley have conceded more goals than any other team in the top five leagues and also have the worst goal differences. To put this in context, Almería are bottom of La Liga having failed to win any of their 26 games so far this season, but their goal difference of -29 is still considerably better than Sheffield United's (-44 ) and Burnley's (-33). ).
Neither team in the relegation battle is making a brave push towards safety. And with only 12 games remaining, we are approaching the business end of the campaign. Fortunately for Brentford and Everton (provided the latter's potential points penalty isn't too severe), they are currently on the right points-per-game path to ensure their first division place. Going off of Forest's current points per game record, 35 points should be enough, and that's even taking into account the Luton game. We're not yet at West Brom's points lows but, with the bottom six desperately out of form, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Baggies lost their 'great escape' record this season.
