Relegation battle

[Eric the Half a Bee]

We've got 18 points to play for. At the most optimistic end of the spectrum, let's look at Bournemouth who are 10 points away and look at all the teams within 10 points of us and how the relegation battle looks.

Games left vs top 6 sides

Brighton 3
Burnley 3
Cardiff City 2
Crystal Palace 2
Bournemouth 1
Newcastle 1
Southampton 0

As Brighton and Burnley are both 5 points ahead of us, this might help us that they've got one more really tough fixture than us.

Games left vs sides positioned 12th and lower (given that we're looking at Bournemouth who are 12th)

Bournemouth 5
Cardiff City 4
Newcastle 4
Southampton 4
Brighton 3
Crystal Palace 3
Burnley 2

Again, it suggests that Brighton and Burnley have tougher run-ins than us. Palace should be safe, but a really poor run from them might still leave them in the mire.

On the face of it, we have a reasonable run in. The downside is that we're playing most of our winnable games away from home. Brighton's tricky fixtures are all away, bar a home game against Man City. Their other homes are against Bournemouth, us and Newcastle. Burnley have the toughest set of fixtures.

Bournemouth, Palace and Newcastle know they are safe with a win today. They are likely to be safe in any case, but another win will virtually ensure survival.

Should Burnley win today, the best scenario we could hope for is to be only 5 points adrift of them after next week's clash. If Burnley win their next two, they're safe as we won't recover an 11 point deficit with 4 games left.

We'll be simultaneously supporting Bournemouth again next Saturday when they go to Brighton. The Seagulls will be in a similar scenario to Burnley - beat Bournemouth and the worst they could be is 5 points ahead of us. If they win their next two, we won't catch them.

However, if Bournemouth can avoid defeat in their next two games and we can somehow win at both Burnley and Brighton, we'll be no worse off than 3 points adrift from both. Lose both and we're in trouble.

Southampton have a straightforward run-in.

Should either or both of Burnley and Brighton be in touching distance after our away trips to both, Brighton go to Wolves while we host Liverpool on the Sunday and Burnley go to Chelsea on the Monday. Any unlikely points against Liverpool would help our cause. We also play before Burnley the weekend after, when we go to Fulham on the Saturday (at the same time as Newcastle - Brighton) while Burnley play at Man City on the Sunday. 3 points at Fulham puts more pressure on Burnley. On the down side, Burnley play Everton on the Friday evening before we play Palace. With our last fixture being at Old Trafford, it might be a game we need to win to survive. True pressure cooker stuff.

The next 10 days are critical. If we're no better off, I think we'd be goners.

[City123]

If we beat Brighton and Burnley, we should stay up

If not, then we'll need a miracle

[WJ99mobile]

If we beat Brighton and Burnley, we should stay up

If not, then we'll need a miracle

Burnley already losing to an own goal. Let the miracles start

[Zenith]

Great start for Bournemouth!!

[JennyWren]

We've got 18 points to play for. At the most optimistic end of the spectrum, let's look at Bournemouth who are 10 points away and look at all the teams within 10 points of us and how the relegation battle looks.

Games left vs top 6 sides

Brighton 3
Burnley 3
Cardiff City 2
Crystal Palace 2
Bournemouth 1
Newcastle 1
Southampton 0

As Brighton and Burnley are both 5 points ahead of us, this might help us that they've got one more really tough fixture than us.

Games left vs sides positioned 12th and lower (given that we're looking at Bournemouth who are 12th)

Bournemouth 5
Cardiff City 4
Newcastle 4
Southampton 4
Brighton 3
Crystal Palace 3
Burnley 2

Again, it suggests that Brighton and Burnley have tougher run-ins than us. Palace should be safe, but a really poor run from them might still leave them in the mire.

On the face of it, we have a reasonable run in. The downside is that we're playing most of our winnable games away from home. Brighton's tricky fixtures are all away, bar a home game against Man City. Their other homes are against Bournemouth, us and Newcastle. Burnley have the toughest set of fixtures.

Bournemouth, Palace and Newcastle know they are safe with a win today. They are likely to be safe in any case, but another win will virtually ensure survival.

Should Burnley win today, the best scenario we could hope for is to be only 5 points adrift of them after next week's clash. If Burnley win their next two, they're safe as we won't recover an 11 point deficit with 4 games left.

We'll be simultaneously supporting Bournemouth again next Saturday when they go to Brighton. The Seagulls will be in a similar scenario to Burnley - beat Bournemouth and the worst they could be is 5 points ahead of us. If they win their next two, we won't catch them.

However, if Bournemouth can avoid defeat in their next two games and we can somehow win at both Burnley and Brighton, we'll be no worse off than 3 points adrift from both. Lose both and we're in trouble.

Southampton have a straightforward run-in.

Should either or both of Burnley and Brighton be in touching distance after our away trips to both, Brighton go to Wolves while we host Liverpool on the Sunday and Burnley go to Chelsea on the Monday. Any unlikely points against Liverpool would help our cause. We also play before Burnley the weekend after, when we go to Fulham on the Saturday (at the same time as Newcastle - Brighton) while Burnley play at Man City on the Sunday. 3 points at Fulham puts more pressure on Burnley. On the down side, Burnley play Everton on the Friday evening before we play Palace. With our last fixture being at Old Trafford, it might be a game we need to win to survive. True pressure cooker stuff.

The next 10 days are critical. If we're no better off, I think we'd be goners.

Still, 32 games into a season when, more often than not, you have come away pointless you still insist on calling games winnable. Are these "winnable" games as winnable as those against Watford and Everton

[City123]

Still, 32 games into a season when, more often than not, you have come away pointless you still insist on calling games winnable. Are these "winnable" games as winnable as those against Watford and Everton

I wonder what could possibly posses an individual to spend their Saturday afternoon on the football messageboard of a club they actively dislike

Its quite sad to be honest