In the Premier League relegation battle, Leicester and QPR received more nails in their Premier League coffins this weekend at the hands of Tottenham and Everton respectively.
With nine games to go, Leicester are seven points away from safety and with their last league win coming on the 10th January at home to Aston Villa, it will take a near miracle for the Foxes to go on a run that will keep them in the Premier league. Looking at Leicester’s remaining fixtures you will see that six of their nine games are at home. However, The King Power Stadium has hardly been a fortress for City this season; they have won two out of thirteen games there this term.
As for QPR, they have the worst away form in the Premier League. In the fourteen games they have played away from Loftus road this season they have only picked up three points. Five of their last eight matches are away from home, including trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, and much like Leicester it would take a miracle for them to avoid the Championship.
Leicester and QPR look like certainties for the drop, and the question many people are asking is: who will join them? Hull, despite only just being above the drop zone, are showing the required traits needed to stay out of trouble. Currently it looks like one team out of Burnley, Aston Villa and Sunderland.
At the start of season, every bookmaker had Burnley as certainties to finish rock bottom, with some even going so far as to say that they could break Derby County’s record for fewest points in a Premier League season set in 2008. All Burnley fans would have taken the current situation they are in with eight games to go. Burnley’s next three fixtures are at home to Spurs and Arsenal, followed by a tough away trip to Everton. Many won’t give them a chance in these fixtures, but their final five games are ones against sides with nothing but pride to play for such as West Ham and Stoke as well as relegation-threatened teams Leicester, Hull City and Aston Villa. These games will fill Burnley with confidence and Sean Dyche will believe his organised, workmanlike side can avoid the drop. Prediction: 17th
Sunderland appear to be in free fall. Without a win in seven they now only sit a point above the drop zone. After their 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa on March 14th the club ended their relationship with Manager Gus Poyet and quickly replaced him with Dick Advocaat, a man with zero experience in the Premier League or and one who has never been embroiled in a relegation battle. Advocaat lost his first game in charge against West Ham on Saturday. Fans and pundits alike believe the key to them staying up lies with January signing Jermain Defoe. Since signing for the North East club Defoe has been starved of service and has struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just two goals in eight games. Sunderland’s season concludes with games against Arsenal and Chelsea so they will be hoping they can get the job done before those games arrive. Advocaat will need to work wonders over the international break or they look like a team destined for the Championship for the first time since the 2006/07 season. Prediction: 18th
Aston Villa, before last weekend’s defeat to Europe-chasing Swansea City appeared to be on the up. Tim Sherwood has now got his Villa side playing direct attacking football which has helped them reach a FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and pick up back-to-back wins in the league against West Brom and Sunderland. With players like Christian Benteke, Gabby Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph in his ranks Sherwood will feel confident of picking up enough points to move well clear of the drop zone. Prediction: 16th
