Hull City face battle for Premiership survival
Burnley and QPR were relegated from the Premier League last weekend but there are still five teams involved in the battle for survival.
Hull City are currently filling the third relegations spot and look in a precarious position. They suffered a home defeat by Burnley and their remaining games are against Tottenham and Manchester United. Steve Bruce’s side had appeared to be back on course after battling victories against Crystal Palace and Liverpool but they are now in deep trouble.
The bookmakers are in no doubt that Hull are the most likely to face the drop and make them 1-3 to go down. The Tigers may take some heart from Tottenham’s recent run of poor form which has seen them take only five points from their last six matches. If they can take something from that game, Bruce would then face the task of engineering a victory over his former club, Manchester United.
Hull are two points adrift of Newcastle and Sunderland who are currently separated only by goal difference. Sunderland’s hopes of survival have been revived since the appointment of veteran coach Dick Advocaat and a 2-0 win at Everton came courtesy of two deflected goals. The Black Cats face fellow strugglers Leicester City this weekend before games against Arsenal and champions Chelsea.
Leicester are just one point above Sunderland and Newcastle after an incredible run of form. They have won six of their last seven matches, their only defeat coming at home to Chelsea. They will fancy their chances of beating Sunderland and they at home to relegated QPR in their last fixture of the season.
Aston Villa are a point above Leicester and have three games remaining against Southampton, Burnley and Arsenal. They can still be relegated mathematically but Tim Sherwood’s team are all but safe. The spotlight has fallen on Newcastle in particular after a dreadful run of nine consecutive defeats.
Magpies’ boss John Carver made an unprecedented attack on his players following their 3-0 defeat at Leicester. They finally ended the sequence when earning a 1-1 draw with West Brom where a goal from Ayoze Perez just before half-time gave them a priceless point. They now travel to QPR before their final game at home to West Ham.
Relegation from the Premier League is estimated to cost £25million in lost revenue and the inevitable struggle to keep their best players.
