Eight points doesn’t make a side safe, but West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace’s octet of advantage on 18th place seem fairly classy right now.
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So when it comes to an all-important relegation fight, there are six sides looking worse for the wear when it comes to safety. Maybe five clubs would be a more honest assessment given Aston Villa’s standing eight points off safety, but let’s give a historic club a shot here.
Standings |
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS | |||
| Leicester City | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 48 | 29 | 19 | 7-4-1 | 8-4-2 | 53 | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 47 | 20 | 27 | 7-4-2 | 7-5-1 | 51 | |||
| Arsenal | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 23 | 18 | 8-3-2 | 7-3-3 | 51 | |||
| Manchester City | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 48 | 28 | 20 | 9-1-4 | 5-4-3 | 47 | |||
| Manchester United | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 6-4-2 | 5-4-5 | 41 | |||
| Southampton | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 24 | 10 | 7-2-4 | 4-5-4 | 40 | |||
| West Ham United | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 40 | 31 | 9 | 5-5-2 | 5-5-4 | 40 | |||
| Liverpool | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 36 | 2 | 4-5-3 | 6-3-5 | 38 | |||
| Watford | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 5-3-5 | 5-3-5 | 36 | |||
| Stoke City | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 5-2-5 | 5-4-5 | 36 | |||
| Everton | 26 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 46 | 35 | 11 | 4-4-6 | 4-7-1 | 35 | |||
| Chelsea | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 36 | 2 | 5-5-4 | 3-4-5 | 33 | |||
| Crystal Palace | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 4-2-8 | 5-3-4 | 32 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 32 | -8 | 4-4-5 | 4-4-5 | 32 | |||
| Bournemouth | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 44 | -14 | 3-4-6 | 4-3-6 | 28 | |||
| Swansea City | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 24 | 34 | -10 | 4-5-5 | 2-4-6 | 27 | |||
| Norwich City | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 30 | 50 | -20 | 4-4-5 | 2-2-9 | 24 | |||
| Newcastle United | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 49 | -22 | 4-5-4 | 2-1-10 | 24 | |||
| Sunderland | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 50 | -18 | 4-3-6 | 2-2-9 | 23 | |||
| Aston Villa | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 20 | 46 | -26 | 2-4-7 | 1-3-9 | 16 | |||
Who has who and when? Let’s dig through the schedules to see who might face Championship level sides next season.
Villa’s schedule is absolutely brutal, and Swansea has a pivotal two-match challenge in North London before things settle down for them. Newcastle has all five of the other relegation candidates remaining, with three going to St. James Park.
Of Sunderland’s six remaining home games, none of are in the thick of a relegation fight (although West Brom isn’t far off). Norwich gets Sunderland and Newcastle at Carrow Road, while Bournemouth has plenty of challenges in its path to safety
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Joleon Lescott of Aston Villa (3L) celebrates with team mates as he scores their first goal with a header during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace at Villa Park on January 12, 2016 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Getty Images
ASTON VILLA
Feb. 27 - at Stoke City
March 1 - vs Everton
March 5 - at Man City
March 12 - vs Spurs
March 19 - at Swans
April 2 - vs Chelsea
April 9 - vs Bournemouth
April 16 - at Manchester United
April 23 - vs Saints
April 30 - at Watford
May 7 - vs Newcastle
May 15 - at Arsenal
SUNDERLAND
Feb. 27 - at West Ham
March 1 - vs Crystal Palace
March 5 - at Saints
March 12 - vs Everton
March 20 - at Newcastle
April 2 - vs West Brom
April 9 - vs Leicester City
April 16 - at Norwich City
April 23 - vs Arsenal
April 30 - at Stoke City
May 7 - vs Chelsea
May 15 - at Watford
NEWCASTLE UNITED
March 2 - at Stoke City
March 5 - vs Bournemouth
March 14 - at Leicester City
March 20 - vs Sunderland
April 2 - at Norwich City
April 9 - at Saints
April 16 - vs Swansea City
April 23 - at Liverpool
April 30 - vs Crystal Palace
May 7 - at Aston Villa
May 15 - vs Spurs
TBA - Manchester City
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Hathan Redmond (L) of Norwich City celeberates scoring his team’s third goal with his team mates Jonathan Howson (R) during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Norwich City at the Stadium of Light on August 15, 2015 in Sunderland, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Getty Images
NORWICH CITY
Feb. 27 - at Leicester City
March 1 - vs Chelsea
March 5 - at Swansea City
March 12 - vs Man City
March 19 - at West Brom
April 2 - vs Newcastle
April 9 - at Crystal Palace
April 16 - vs Sunderland
April 23 - vs Watford
April 30 - at Arsenal
May 7 - vs Manchester United
May 15 - at Everton
SWANSEA CITY
Feb. 28 - at Spurs
March 2 - at Arsenal
March 5 - vs Norwich City
March 12 - at Bournemouth
March 19 - vs Aston Villa
April 2 - at Stoke City
April 9 - vs Chelsea
April 16 - at Newcastle United
April 23 - at Leicester City
April 30 - vs Liverpool
May 7 - at West Ham United
May 15 - vs Manchester City
BOURNEMOUTH
Feb. 27 - at Watford
March 1 - vs Saints
March 5 - at Newcastle United
March 12 - vs Swansea City
March 19 - at Spurs
April 2 - vs Manchester City
April 9 - at Aston Villa
April 16 - vs Liverpool
April 23 - vs Chelsea
April 30 - at Everton
May 7 - vs West Brom
May 15 - at Manchester United