Feature

Relegation rivals face crucial day

By Ben Pearce 22 Feb 2023

Only eight points separate the bottom nine teams and four of those sides meet on Saturday

An enthralling relegation fight is getting ever tighter, with the results of crucial head-to-head duels last weekend closing the gaps between all the clubs battling for safety.

Last Saturday, the three teams who started the day in the drop zone all won their matches, the first time that had happened on the same day since 10 January 2015.

Everton and AFC Bournemouth beat relegation rivals Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively, both winning 1-0 and earning big rewards as they climbed out of the bottom three.

Leeds' defeat pitched them into the danger zone, suddenly only one point off the foot of the table as bottom club Southampton shocked Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, also triumphing 1-0.

With the four teams placed 12th to 15th all drawing or losing over the weekend, there are now only eight points separating the bottom nine sides.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
12	Chelsea CHE	38	-9	44
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL	38	-27	41
14	West Ham United WHU	38	-13	40
15	Bournemouth BOU	38	-34	39
16	Nottingham Forest NFO	38	-30	38
17	Everton EVE	38	-23	36
18	Leicester City LEI	38	-17	34
19	Leeds United LEE	38	-30	31
20	Southampton SOU	38	-37	25

The landscape could now shift dramatically again, given this weekend's fixtures.

LEE

1-0

SOU

The bottom two clubs, Leeds and Southampton, meet at Elland Road and a win for either team could take them out of the relegation zone.

A Saints side who were three points adrift at the bottom a fortnight ago could now leapfrog not only Leeds and West Ham United but also 17th-placed AFC Bournemouth, who face a tough test at home to Manchester City.

Southampton will be aiming to maintain their progress under Ruben Selles, who has been put in charge for the rest of the season after his hugely successful debut at Chelsea.

And Leeds will hoping their new head coach can make an immediate impact of his own, after appointing Javi Gracia on Tuesday.

WHU

4-0

NFO

Meanwhile, West Ham - who dropped into the bottom three last weekend - now have a huge home match against Nottingham Forest, who are five points above them.

Forest are in strong form, taking eight points from their last five matches and holding Man City to a 1-1 draw last time out. But a defeat in east London this weekend could leave Steve Cooper's side only six points off the foot of the table.

Forest's precarious situation is underlined by the fact that the three teams immediately below them - Leicester City, Wolves and Everton - have each won two of their last four matches.

Just above Forest, 12th-placed Crystal Palace have looked relatively safe.

Yet the Eagles are winless in their seven matches in 2023, a run which leaves them six points above the relegation zone, and they have tough fixtures ahead.