Only seven points separate the 20th and 12th place in the Premier League when the season’s final two months begin.
Seven points separate 12th-placed Crystal Palace from last-place Southampton in one of the most fiercely contested relegation matches in recent memory.
Who has the greatest chance of being relegated, then? On May 28th, no club wants to be the loser of this race and go back to the EFL. Here are the participants who are in danger of being relegated at the end of the season.
12th place – Crystal Palace
- 30 points
- Differential score: -15
- Type: LLLLW
- Leeds (away), Southampton (away), Everton (home), Wolves (away), West Ham (home), and Tottenham (away) are the next six league opponents
Crystal Palace has already had a challenging season as Brighton, one of its rivals, strives for a spot in Europe while they plunge into the mid-table. But after winning his first game in command against Leicester to bring them four points clear of the relegation zone, Roy Hodgson, who returned to take over for Patrick Vieira, has started brightly.
13th place – Leeds
- 29 points
- Differential score – 11
- Formation: LDWLW
- The following six league contests are at home: Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool, Fulham vs. Leicester, Bournemouth vs. Man City.
Leeds rebounded from their 4-1 loss at league-leaders Arsenal on Tuesday with a significant victory against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest in the first of six key games.
In the following crucial month, Javi Garcia’s team plays four of its relegation opponents.
14th place – Wolverhampton Wolves
- 28 points
- Differential score -19
- Formation: DLLWL
- Chelsea (home), Brentford (home), Leicester (away), Crystal Palace (home), Brighton (away), and Aston Villa (home) are the next six league games.
Due to the Wolves’ uneven recent play, it is impossible to predict which version of Julen Lopetegui’s team will show up each week.
Who will win or lose at Anfield—the team that defeats Tottenham? The team that defeated fellow relegation candidates Leeds by four goals or came before against Southampton with 10 men?
15th place – West Ham
- 27 points
- Differential score – 9
- Formation: WDLWL
- Next six league games: Newcastle (home), Fulham (away), Arsenal (home), Bournemouth (away), Liverpool (home), Crystal Palace (away)
Making the ideal start to a vital April that will see them play nine games in 27 days, David Moyes’ team battled to a key 1-0 home victory against relegation rivals Southampton to pull them out of the bottom three.
The second fascinating part of their predicament relates to their Europa Conference League campaign, which gets underway on April 13 when they play Gent in Belgium in the first leg of their quarterfinal.
16th place – Everton
- 27 points
- Differential score -18
- Formation: DDWDL
- Next six league games: Man United (away), Fulham (away), Crystal Palace (away), Newcastle (home), Leicester (away), Brighton (away)
Following his arrival at Goodison Park, Sean Dyche quickly gained the support of the crowd by defeating Arsenal, Leeds, and Brentford three times at home. Since then, the players have fought bravely to get crucial draws against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Tottenham at home.
If the Toffees are to stay up, you can foresee that the majority of their points will come from the five home games still to play.
17th place – Nottingham Forest
- 27 points
- Differential score -28
- Formation: DLLDL
- Next six league games: Aston Villa (away), Man Utd (home), Liverpool (away), Brighton (home), Brentford (away), Southampton (home)
After losing at relegation-rival Leeds on Tuesday, Nottingham Forest is now running winless in their previous eight games, and manager Steve Cooper is under increasing pressure.
In the first of five games against teams in the top half this month, they go to a hot Aston Villa on Saturday.
18th place – AFC Bournemouth
- 27 points
- Differential score – 28
- Formation – WLWLL
- Next six league games: Leicester (away), Tottenham (away), West Ham (home), Southampton (away), Leeds (home), Chelsea (home)
19th place – Leicester City
- 25 points
- Differential score – 11
- Formation – LLDLL
- Next six league games: Bournemouth (home), Man City (away), Wolves (home), Leeds (away), Everton (home), Fulham (away)
Brendan Rodgers was fired by Leicester this past Sunday following their 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace, but the move did not help the team upset Aston Villa. With nine games left, the Foxes are two points outside of safety after losing 2-1 to another late goal. Their final four games are against the other teams fighting for relegation.
20th place – Southampton
- 23 points
- Differential score – 24
- Formation – LDLDW
- The following six league games are Man City (away), Nottingham Forest (away), Bournemouth (home), Crystal Palace (away), Arsenal (away), and Newcastle (away).
Sunday’s devastating 1-0 loss to fellow struggling West Ham has put Southampton at rock bottom of the standings.
The games against relegation opponents Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest will be the ones Ruben Selles’ team knows will be crucial in their fight to stay in the Premier League. Ruben Selles’ team faces the top two league leaders Man City and Arsenal in their next three games.
