It’s an eight-horse race for Premier League survival this season, with only five of those teams guaranteed to survive. We already have a lagging back-marker in Paul Jewell’s Derby, while Fulham, under Roy Hodgson, are starting to lose touch with the pack after their defeat at Upton Park.

Are the Cottagers doomed to play Championship football and, if so, which other team will join them and the Rams in falling through the trap door?

It couldn’t be tighter in the race to avoid the third relegation berth. Sunderland are in 18th place only by virtue of a poorer goal difference, with Wigan, Birmingham and Bolton also bang on the 20-point mark. Middlesbrough and Reading are marginally better off, ahead of the quartet by a point and two points respectively. Some might argue that Tottenham and Newcastle are also only a couple of defeats from danger, although there are surely too many runners scrapping it out below for them to feature – this season at least!

‘If the Blues and Latics are still Premier League members next term, Steve Bruce can claim to have had a hand in keeping two teams afloat in the space of a season.’


Many people are now tipping Bolton to falter and you can understand why. Losing Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea midway through the season is a huge blow to the Trotters and it’s hard to see them bringing in an adequate replacement, even with £15 million recouped for the striker. He, along with the absent El Hadji Diouf, have accounted for over half the Lancashire club’s goals in the Premier League this season, and it could be that the poor start made under Sammy Lee comes back to haunt them.

Sunderland are the only team in the bottom six not to have replaced their manager this season, with the board firmly behind Roy Keane after an astonishing promotion charge last term. Understandably, the Black Cats have struggled from the start, appearing to have made 17th and 18th spot their own at various stages this season. However, their home form is fairly respectable, with more points accrued at the Stadium of Light than Liverpool and Blackburn have managed at their respective abodes. Impending visits from Birmingham and Wigan will go a long way in deciding the north-east club’s fate.

If the Blues and Latics are still Premier League members next term, Steve Bruce can claim to have had a hand in keeping two teams afloat in the space of a season. After all, he guided Birmingham to promotion last term and they were a respectable 15th when he left for the JJB Stadium at the end of November. The former Manchester United defender has now grabbed his new club by the scruff of the neck and hauled them to temporary safety. Considering the sniping that took place between Birmingham's owners and Bruce when he left in the autumn, things should be a bit tasty when the two teams meet for what will surely be a relegation six-pointer on April 5.

Despite beating Arsenal and drawing with Liverpool in the past couple of months, Middlesbrough just can't seem to haul themselves away from danger at the foot of the table. They've not been helped by the lack of striking options since Yakubu and Mark Viduka jumped ship, and the departure of England winger Stewart Downing will hardly help matters in that department. Will the perennial relegation flirts finally bite the dust? In a season where so many top-flight managers have been axed, it appears Boro chairman Steve Gibson is continuing to back his inexperienced manager Gareth Southgate to steer his club towards mid-table.

He's not the only one. Despite having a lower points tally than this time last season, it's generally acknowledged that Steve Coppell is doing a good job at Reading. However, it must be a concern for Royals’ fans that their team is suffering a five-match winless run, especially when their next league matches are against Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea. They also have the worst defence in the Premier League, especially away from home where they've shipped 32 goals in 11 matches – can they stop the rot in time?

As always, when the weather starts to get cold outside, the relegation race starts to hot up and this season could be a cracker. If Fulham can somehow nick a couple of wins (starting with Arsenal on Saturday!), there could be seven teams involved in the scramble to get out of the mire – who do you reckon will get left behind?