Fight to stay in the League

With the final international break of the season taking place the teams at the bottom of the table are realising that they might not be playing in the Premier League next season. With TV sponsorship deals and playing in England's the teams nearer to the bottom have taken drastic decisions. Every team in the bottom six has changed their manager this season, notably Leicester sacking their most successful manager in their history, Ranieri.

With regular 'yo-yo' teams Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland in the bottom three and Swansea City lingering in 17th place we will have a look at those four teams and see if any of these sides can avoid the drop.

Club: Swansea City
Form: LLWLW
Position: 17th
Position last season: 12th
Last time they were relegated: N/A
Odds: 2/1



Swansea are in serious danger of being relegated from the Premier League for the first time in their history. After gaining promotion in 2011 they have established themselves as a respectable Premier League side, often finishing mid-table and even bagging the league cup in 2012. This season Swansea City have been inconsistent and have changed their manager three times. Paul Clement has done a decent job so far and with two six pointer matches to play in their remaining nine matches against Middlesbrough and Sunderland, they have a good chance of keeping their record of never getting relegated intact.

Club: Hull City
Form: LWLDL
Position: 18th
Position last season: 4th (Championship)
Last time they were relegated: 2014/2015
Odds: 4/11



Hull have spent more time in the Championship than the Premier League in the last decade and have struggled in every Premier League campaign they have been in, their highest league position being 16th. With only 26 goals in 29 league games and six wins Hull are in serious trouble of getting relegated for the second time in three seasons. With six pointers against Middlesbrough and Hull City their chances of staying up will depend on those two games.

Club: Middlesbrough
Form: LLLWL
Position: 19th
Position last season: 2nd (Championship)
Last time they were relegated: 2008/2009
Odds: 2/7



Their first campaign in the league for eight seasons has been dreadful. Nobody can fault Middlesbrough's defence this season but their attack has been woeful. With only 20 goals in 28 games they are the leagues lowest scorers. They have failed to win a single game in the league in 2017 and have the worst form in the top flight. They last recorded a win in the Premier League was December 17th when they beat Swansea City 3-0. Unless they can recapture that kind of form they look certain for relegation.

Club: Sunderland
Form: DLLLW
Position: 20th
Position last season: 17th
Last time they were relegated: 2006/2007
Odds: 1/16



New year, same story for Sunderland. In the last nine seasons Sunderland have only finished in the top half of the league once, in 2011 when they finished 10th. After scraping 17th place to stay in the league this season pundits tipped them to go down from the get go of the 2016/17 campaign. They have only managed 5 wins from 28 games this season and will need another 9 wins from their remaining 10 games to reach the magic 40 point barrier which keeps so many teams safe. They are the bookies' favourite for relegation. Although they have pulled off miracles in the past it looks like they are going to be playing in the Championship next season.