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Without a doubt, the Premier League is one of the toughest competitions in the footballing world; there's a chance that any team could beat the other, with perhaps the exception of Manchester City, who have appeared invincible over the past couple of seasons. However, competition is so fierce between teams that clubs in the lower half of the table face the risk of relegation - even if by just a few points.
The relegation zone is unforgiving and it doesn't care how well you play football; if you don't get enough points, it gobbles you up and spits you back out into the Championship, forcing you to start the 46-game grind all over again.
For a team to be relegated from the Premier League, they must finish in the bottom three places (18th to 20th).
In this list, we'll be taking a look at five clubs most likely to be relegated this season, and whether or not they could still be in with a chance to scrape survival, or if they're simply dead in the water.
#5 Southampton
Ralph Hasenhutl rose to prominence during his time as manager of RB Leipzig in Germany. Leipzig are a team that shows an incredible amount of promise and they continue to strengthen their team year by year, with household names like Timo Werner, Kevin Kampl and Emil Forsberg amongst the starting eleven. He became their manager back in July 2016, and left in May 2018, with a reasonable 48% win rate.
In December 2018, Hasenhuttl signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Southampton and immediately lifted the spirits of the Saints fans, especially after hearing that he's regarded as the 'Austrian Jurgen Klopp'.
Southampton have had a very jumpy start under Hasnehuttl, however, losing 3-1 to Spurs before losing 1-0 to Cardiff City - a team odds-on favourites for relegation. They did manage a miraculous victory over Arsenal in mid-December, though, in which they won 3-2 thanks to an 85th-minute winner by Charlie Austin. And there was even more cause for optimism when they beat Huddersfield 3-1, but since then, their record has been poor, with two more losses and a draw, which cast a shadow over their 2-1 victory over Leicester.
Although they might be winning the odd game here and there, this simply won't be enough for them to avoid the relegation zone if things continue as they are. Hasenhuttl will be desperate to get the club back on track, but after their most recent loss in the FA Cup to Championship side Derby County, morale has hit rock bottom.
It will be tough for Southampton to get away from the drop zone now, which is why they've made the fifth spot in this list.
#4 Newcastle United
Rafa Benitez surprised virtually everybody when he decided to replace Steve McClaren as Newcastle's new manager back in 2016. With a CV like his -- which features clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, and Real Madrid -- joining Newcastle, who were about to be relegated, was a very odd one.
However, he did what many expected him to do, and led Newcastle back to the Premier League. In their first season back in the top flight, Newcastle flourished and finished 10th. This was a prime example of what Benitez was capable of, but then the summer came, and the Magpies began to suddenly fall apart.
Their pre-season was dismal and there were clear causes for concern regarding the depth in their squad, which Mike Ashley was uninterested in fixing. This prompted yet another divide between the fans and the board, and the turmoil started to affect the players on the pitch.
This is certainly evident now, as we take a look at Newcastle's position in the table half-way through the season. They currently sit in 17th place with just 21 points, and with the recent news from the Telegraph, which reveals that Rafa will leave in the summer if he doesn't get the players he wants this month, Newcastle could be heading down a very slippery slope.
#3 Cardiff City
Cardiff were always candidates for relegation, so the fact that they're included on this list will probably surprise no one. They did very well in the Championship to have finished in second place with a staggering 90 points, but a failure to add any real strength to their side in the summer has cost them dearly.
To make matters worse, their recent record signing Emiliano Sala has been reported missing after the plane that was taking him from Nantes to Cardiff was believed to have crashed. It's a tragic incident that transcends whatever issues the club faces in football, but Cardiff's morale will be at an all-time low right now.
The Bluebirds sit in 18th place with just 19 points. They've been treated as relegation fodder from the get-go, and judging by the way they've been consistently dismantled by other clubs in the division, there seems to be only one end result for the Welsh club.
#2 Fulham
Fulham were promoted to the Premier League last season after they won the Championship Play-Offs. They were very unlucky not to have risen automatically, as they were a mere two points off second place.
Hopes were high for Fulham's chances in the Premier League, especially after they added a plethora of decent players to their squad. But the team did not gel, and the dire results they've had since the season began is a reflection of how dysfunctional they are right now.
Slavisa Jokanovic just four months into the Premier League campaign and replaced with Claudio Ranieri, who had won the title three years ago with Leicester City. But it will take a miracle for any manager to fix the innumerable issues at Fulham right now.
Fulham are in 19th place with a mere 14 points after 23 matches. They've lost a total of 15 games now and the likelihood of them staying up is becoming increasingly slim.
#1 Huddersfield Town
Just a couple of weeks ago, David Wagner agreed to leave Huddersfield by mutual consent, after realising that he was unable to lift them out of their current situation. They had been sat either at the bottom of the league, or around it, for the majority of the season, and nothing looked as if it was going to change.
Enter: Jan Siewert. The 36-year-old left his position as coach of Borrusia Dortmund's second team to join the Terriers in a deal until summer 2021. Ironically, Wagner held the same position before joining Huddersfield too. Siewert is yet to take charge of a game, but his first match will be at home to Everton on 29th January.
Huddersfield are currently in 20th place with just 11 points, 10 adrift from safety. It's safe to say the future doesn't look too bright for them right now and it will take a lot of work from Siewert to even keep them afloat, let alone win a match.
