The Battle for survival in the Premier League is down to five teams. Six points separate 20th from 16th and with eight games to go, it does not get any more closer. The Current Bottom 5 stand in the following manner:
Team | Points | Goal Difference |
16.Blackburn Rovers | 28 | -19 |
17.Bolton Wanderers( 29 games) | 26 | -25 |
18.Queens Park Rangers | 25 | -20 |
19.Wigan Athletic | 25 | -28 |
20. Wolves | 22 | -34 |
1. Blackburn Rovers( 28 points)
The ’95 Premier League champions have been on a downslide. Their recent form however could be the key factor in helping them avoid the drop.
Opponent( home or away) | Predicted points |
Manchester United (H) | 0 |
West Bromwich Albion (A) | 1 |
Liverpool(H) | 1 |
Swansea(A) | 1 |
Norwich (H) | 3 |
Tottenham (A) | 0 |
Wigan (H) | 1 |
Chelsea(A) | 0 |
Grand total: 35 points
2. Bolton Wanderers(26 points)
Bolton Wanderers have two wins in a row in the Barclays Premier League and they will ” Play For Muamba”Having played a game lesser than their contemporaries, they would be favourites to survive.
Opponent( home or away) | Predicted points |
Sunderland (A) | 1 |
Aston Villa (A) | 1 |
Wolves (A) | 1 |
Fulham (H) | 1 |
Newcastle (A) | 0 |
Tottenham (H) | 1 |
Swansea (H) | 1 |
West Brom(H) | 1 |
Stoke City(A) | 1 |
Grand Total : 34 points
3. Queens Park Rangers (25 Points):
The newly promoted Londoners had more money than their fellow uprisers Swansea and Norwich but still find themselves in the relegation mess.
Opponent( home or away) | Predicted points |
Arsenal (H) | 0 |
Manchester United(A) | 0 |
Swansea (H) | 1 |
West Brom (A) | 1 |
Tottenham (H) | 0 |
Chelsea (A) | 0 |
Stoke (H) | 1 |
Manchester City (H) | 0 |
Grand Total : 28 points
4. Wigan Athletic( 25 points):
Roberto Martinez’s men have played good attacking football but their ability to leak goals has left them with a very negative goal difference.
Opponent( home or away) | Predicted points |
Stoke (H) | 1 |
Chelsea (A) | 0 |
Manchester United(H) | 0 |
Arsenal(A) | 0 |
Fulham (A) | 0 |
Newcastle (H) | 1 |
Blackburn (A) | 1 |
Wolves (H) | 3 |
Grand total: 31 points
5. Wolverhampton Wanderers(22 points):
Wolves have been poor both home and away this season. The sacking of Mick Mccarthy did not help in any way. They have all the odds stacked against them and if they are able to achieve escape from relegation then it would be considered a huge success for the club.
Opponent (home or away) | Predicted points |
Bolton (H) | 1 |
Stoke (A) | 1 |
Arsenal (H) | 0 |
Sunderland (A) | 0 |
Man City (H) | 0 |
Swansea(A) | 1 |
Everton (H) | 1 |
Wigan (A) | 0 |
Grand total: 26 points
ANALYSIS
So the predicted Premier League bottom 5 at the end of the season would be :
Position | Team | Points |
16 | Blackburn Rovers | 35 |
17 | Bolton Wanderers | 34 |
18 | Wigan Athletic | 31 |
19 | Queens Park Rangers | 28 |
20 | Wolves | 26 |
Wigan, QPR and Wolves could very well say goodbye to the Premier league if things go awry. The toughness of their fixtures, their leaky defence and their inconsistent attack could well be their downfall. While Wigan would seem hard done, QPR should really have no excuses. As for Wolves, it could be an inevitable conclusion.
There are always game changers in the Premier League. QPR will have to pick up points against the top 5 . Wigan have to win at least a couple of those games . Wolves will have to win three to stay in the hunt let alone survive. If anything might change it might be Wigan Athletic’s fortunes.