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While the top three contenders for the Premier League title have been decided and almost come to a conclusion, the battle to stay in the best league in the world is being contested by most of the bottom half of the table. Recent wins for Fulham and Cardiff have again turned the tables just when people were beginning to think that they were going to play Championship football next season.
The teams that are in the fray to escape the much dreaded drop zone include Fulham, Sunderland, Norwich City, Cardiff City, West Brom and Aston Villa. 36 points is probably the cut off this season, so teams that are upwards from Hull City are relatively safe and free to fight for mid-table league positions.
In an analysis, we see who could potentially end up in the Championship next season.
From the above table, it seems to be very much ‘game over’ for Sunderland’s faint survival hopes despite the games in hand. While teams like Swansea and Aston Villa are relatively safe, it is a 4-way dogfight between Fulham, Cardiff, Norwich and West Brom to occupy the remaining two relegation places. One would fancy Fulham and West Brom to stay in the top-flight, thanks to a nightmarish run in for Norwich and an inexperienced Cardiff team that has looked very shaky even at home.
While this season has been one of the tightest considering relegation battles, we have surely seen the experience counting for the likes of Hull, West Ham and Stoke, where home form has helped their cause immensely. These three clubs are now even fighting Newcastle and Southampton for a late push into the top 8!
In what has been a season of many twists and turns, not even a miracle it seems can spare Sunderland from relegation. They did briefly have a huge lift when the reached the Capital One Cup final, and had improved to 14th position, but to be fair, it has been nothing other than shoddy seeing the way they have escalated downwards.
