Top assisting teams in Europe

As the season comes to a close we take a look at the teams across the top five leagues in Europe. Today we are specifically looking at which teams have the best assist records in the continent.

Real Madrid are europes top assisters per game by Josue Ngandu

Is there one more twist at the bottom of the table?

With Sunderland the first team to suffer relegation in the 2016/2017 and seven teams in the league below the magical 40 point barrier, we are going to take a look at the bottom seven, barring Sunderland to see how their final three league games will pan out.

Team: Burnley
Points: 39
Position: 14th
Form: LWDLLW
Final three games: West Brom (H), Bournmouth (A) and West Ham (H)
Odds to get relegated: 200/1



With Burnley all but confirming their safety in next seasons Premier League with a big win against Crystal Palace last week it would take a massive upset to see Burnley relegated next season. They have two favourable home games this season, and with their outstanding home record will be confident in passing the 40 point mark and pushing for a top ten finish.

Team: West Ham United
Points: 39
Position: 15th
Form: LLWDDD
Final three games: Tottenham (H), Liverpool (H) and Burnley (A)
Odds to get relegated: 66/1



West Ham will be feeling the pressure, with three draws on the bounce they have suddenly found themselves facing a dilemma going into the end of the season. With two home games against teams in the top three they could be on 39 points with one game left to play at the end of the season. Burnley are no pushover at home and the hammers may find out they may not win any of their remaining games.

Team: Crystal Palace
Points: 38
Position: 16th
Form: LWDWLL
Final three games: Manchester City (A), Hull City (H) and Manchester United (A)
Odds to get relegated: 16/1



With the loss against Burnley, Palace now find themselves in a bit of trouble. However their fixture list may not bother them, with recent wins against Chelsea and Liverpool they will be confident of picking up points against both Manchester sides, albeit they are both away from home. They will be looking at their penultimate fixture against Hull City as the big one and will hope to get three points in that game and pass the 40 mark barrier.

Team: Hull City
Points: 34
Position: 17th
Form: WWLLWD
Final three games: Sunderland (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Tottenham (H)
Odds to get relegated: 15/8



Hull City have been amongst the wrong end of the table for months. They would love for the season to end today. With a home trip against relegated Sunderland next game week they will be confident to get the three points. However, tricky a tricky away trip against Palace followed by a home game against high flying Spurs will be tough. If they can pick up maximum points in their next two fixtures then they will be safe.

Team: Swansea City
Points: 32
Position: 18th
Form: DLLLWD
Final three games: Everton (H), Sunderland (A) and West Brom (H)
Odds to get relegated: 4/7



Swansea's point against Man Utd in their last match was massive. Sigurdsson has been their star player. They will be looking to swap places with Hull, but with the tigers playing Sunderland and Swanesa playing Everton in their next games the gap may increase between them. Their task is to at least match Hull's results in the next few games to have any chances of survival.

Team: Middlesbrough
Points: 28
Position: 19th
Form: LDLLWD
Final three games: Chelsea (A), Southampton (H) and Liverpool (A)
Odds to get relegated: 1/1000

Middlesbrough need to win every single game if they have any chance of survival. They face tough trips to Chelsea and Liverpool as well as a tough home game against Southampton. They need a miracle, but anything can happen in football.

Whilst away at Sky Sports doing work experience I wrote an article on when the Europa League semi final draw takes place.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11959/10835631/when-is-the-europa-league-semi-final-draw

Celtic's Kolo Toure insists trophies more important than unbeaten run

Whilst away at Sky Sports doing work experience I wrote an article on Kolo Toure insisting trophies are more important than Celtic's unbeaten run.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11787/10837442/celtics-kolo-toure-insists-trophies-more-important-than-unbeaten-run

Burnley’s impressive home form

Whilst away at Sky Sports I wrote an article on Burnley's impressive home form in the Premier League.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10844309/burnleys-home-form-could-cause-man-utd-problems-at-turf-moor

Crystal Palace's tough run in

Thank you for answering my Twitter poll on who will get relegated between Brighton and Newcastle next season. 47% of you believe Brighton will go down, 5% only think Newcastle will. However 37% of you don't think either side will and only 11% think they both will go down.



Whilst being away at work experience I haven't had the time to update my blog regularly, however I managed to write a little piece whilst I was at work experience.

Crystal Palace's tough run in

Sam Allardyce has masterminded terrific wins over Chelsea and Arsenal and his Palace side are 6 points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand – however they are not safe and have a really tough run in. Will they survive the drop?

Palace have won five games in their last six matches. There is a real sense of optimism and renowned confidence in South East London.

They have scored ten goals in that period, conceding just two in the process. Their form has put them joint second in the form table, alongside Chelsea and behind Tottenham Hotspur.

The introduction of Mamadou Sakho has seen Palace keep four clean sheets in their last six games and the attacking threat of Andros Townsend, Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha (who has been compared to Neymar) have seen Palace score at least twice in their last three games.

 

However, Palace will have to keep their feet on the ground and work hard if they want to stay in the Premier League next season.

Allarydce has never been relegated in his managerial career. Keeping the likes of Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland from the drop.

His achievements saw him named England manager but after being sacked after one game for the three lions he has rejuvenated his career at Palace.

The Eagles will be wary of the fact they still have to play Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United away from home as well as hosting Tottenham Hotspur.

Their form against the top six before Sam Allarydce took over was embarrassing. They had lost every single game, conceding 12 goals in the process and only scoring four.

However their famous 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and their 3-0 win over Arsenal at Selhurst Park means a revitalised Palace may have a big say in who finishes where in the top four.

 

If results in their run in do not go their way, a six pointer game against Hull City could be the biggest game of Big Sam’s career.

They lie four points above Hull City, who recently have enjoyed a good spell of home form and are gaining momentum.

Crystal Palace next face Liverpool away from home. Three points against the reds will see the surpass the 40 point barrier.

A loss will have fans asking questions about their safety.

Is promotion to the Premiership a blessing or a curse?

The financial packages to securing a place in the Premier League is monumental, but does that necessarily mean that your fans will enjoy potentially watching their team scrape survival? This season newcomers, Burnley, Middlesbrough and Hull all linger in the bottom half of the Premier League table. With Middlesbrough in the relegation zone and Hull one place above it. Is one season of ecstasy worse a season of misery?

I have asked a Twitter Poll asking if Newcastle and Brighton will have a successful Premier League campaign next season, lets have a look to see how they are doing in this seasons Championship.

Team: Newcastle
Position: 1st
Points: 84
Form: DLDWW
Odds: 1/250















The last time Newcastle were in the Championship the smashed it. Earing 102 points and finishing nine points clear of West Brom in 2010. This time round they are in first place again, albeit they may not surpass the 100 point barrier, they still look like a team who is clearly a league above the Championship. Unlucky to be relegated last season after the appointment of Rafael Benitez, it looks like they could be safe in next seasons Premier League.

Dwight Gayle has been outstanding for Newcastle this season, netting 22 goals and registering two assists in the process. Overall, Newcastle have found scoring easy to go by. Netting 73 all together, if they can carry that sort of confidence into next season and if they can build on their squad, fans will be believing they can restore the type of league form which saw them finish 5th in the 2011/12 season, two seasons after promotion from the Championship.

Team: Brighton
Position: 2nd
Points: 83
Form: WWLWW
Odds: 1/33















Brighton and Hove Albion are having the season of their lives. Their highest league position in the Championship was 3rd last season and missed out on the playoffs. However they have managed to step it up again this year round and with Chris Hughton in charge, a former Premier League manager and a man who gained promotion to the Premiership with Newcastle United in 2010. He will be looking to repeat the same feat again with Brighton.

They have the second best defensive record in the Championship after Newcastle and have lost the least games in the league this season. If they can continue that kind of form in the league next season then they will be tough to deal with in the Premiership. However, it is easier than it sounds.