With the run-in of 2021-22 Premier League season set to get underway, here is a guide to the relegation scrap involving five clubs as they look to secure their top-flight status.
Norwich City, Burnley, Watford, Everton and Leeds United are all currently fighting to secure their Premier League status, with all five teams having various amounts of games during the run-in just to add extra unpredictability to the fight for survival.
Here, we take a look at the individual run-ins across all five clubs whose Premier League status is uncertain and provide analysis on how their run-ins could unfold, complete with predictions on how many points they could achieve.
20 = Norwich
| Opposition | Venue |
| Brighton | Away |
| Burnley | Home |
| Manchester United | Away |
| Newcastle United | Home |
| Aston Villa | Away |
| West Ham | Home |
| Wolves | Away |
| Leicester | Away |
| Tottenham | Home |
Currently sat eight points away from safety and rock-bottom of the table, Norwich simply need a huge run of wins if they’re to realistically stand any chance of survival.
Their remaining away games however are my biggest concern because I just can’t see them getting anything at Man Utd, Aston Villa or Leicester, whilst their away match at freefalling Brighton is simply a must-win especially for momentum sake heading into a crunch home clash against Burnley.
As for their chances of a win at Wolves, they probably are going to need the same luck which helped them prevail in the Fourth Round of this season’s FA Cup, otherwise I just don’t see them getting a win at Molineux.
At home, Dean Smith’s Canaries simply need to beat Burnley and Newcastle because if West Ham and Tottenham are still fighting for European qualification, it will be difficult to see Norwich getting anything from those two matches.
In fact, Norwich likely need to win their first two matches of their run-in against Brighton and Burnley otherwise I can’t see them getting much except a win over Newcastle and perhaps some draws here and there.
Points prediction: 5 points
19 = Burnley
| Opposition | Venue |
| Manchester City | Home |
| Everton | Home |
| Norwich | Away |
| West Ham | Away |
| Southampton | Home |
| Wolves | Home |
| Watford | Away |
| Aston Villa | Home |
| Tottenham | Away |
| Aston Villa | Away |
| Newcastle | Home |
With more matches left in their season than their relegation rivals and four points below safety, Burnley surely know that survival could well end up in their own hands if they can start stringing wins together.
Focusing initially on their first two home matches, I don’t see them getting a win against Man City but if they beat Everton in their rearranged clash, it could place them one point behind the Toffees with rearranged matches against Southampton and Aston Villa to come.
Throw in the fact that Sean Dyche’s Clarets also have winnable home matches against Southampton, Wolves, Villa and Newcastle to come, Burnley should realistically look to gain at least nine points from their six remaining home matches if they get their scoring boots on.
Away from home, Burnley surely should write off their chances against West Ham and Tottenham but if they can win crunch trips to Norwich and Watford on top of a tricky visit to Villa plus perform well at home, they really should have a great chance at survival.
Points prediction: 14 points
18 = Watford
| Opposition | Venue |
| Liverpool | Away |
| Leeds | Home |
| Brentford | Home |
| Manchester City | Away |
| Burnley | Home |
| Crystal Palace | Away |
| Leicester City | Home |
| Everton | Home |
| Chelsea | Away |
Roy Hodgson’s Hornets though have a favourable home run-in if they can sort out their defensive issues, especially because wins over Leeds, Brentford and Burnley – who are all around Watford in the table would greatly boost their chances of survival.
Currently three points off safety, Watford face a decent run-in but I definitely am writing off their remaining away matches, as I don’t see them winning at Liverpool, Man City or Chelsea but Palace could be a crucial away match to their survival chances.
Their final home match of the season though against Leicester could be interesting if they need a win to take their bid for survival to a final day decider. especially given that the visitors won’t have anything really to play for by then.
I however feel like Watford’s survival prospects depends on sorting out their defensive issues and clinical attacking play, meaning that my gut instinct is that they could potentially get between 5-9 points at home but Palace away might be a must-win in the overall picture.
Seven points from their run-in at a guess therefore is a fair prediction at present in my opinion given their defensive form.
Points prediction: 7 points
17 = Everton
| Opposition | Venue |
| West Ham | Away |
| Burnley | Away |
| Manchester United | Home |
| Leicester City | Home |
| Liverpool | Away |
| Chelsea | Home |
| Leicester City | Away |
| Crystal Palace | Home |
| Brentford | Home |
| Watford | Away |
| Arsenal | Away |
With West Ham and Man Utd fighting for European qualification plus Liverpool fighting for the title, Everton’s prospects in April looks grave unless they defeat Burnley at Turf Moor which isn’t a given although Leicester have nothing much to play for which could offer mild hope.
Throw in the fact that they face six of last season’s top eight finishers across seven of their nine remaining matches and sit just three points above the drop, Everton need to get it absolutely right if they seriously want to stay up. Having endured a season packed with injuries and inconsistent form, Everton now face their hardest run-in for the first time in several years as they fight for their Premier League status.
Their final six matches of the season across May however looks slightly better but games against Chelsea and Arsenal look write-offs on current quality, meaning that Everton’s trips to Leicester and Watford plus their home clashes against Crystal Palace and Brentford could be season-defining.
In fact, Everton’s two clashes against Leicester could be absolutely pivotal if they lose at Burnley because if they fail to take two wins against the Foxes, I feel like they will be down regardless of what they achieve against Brentford if results elsewhere go against them too.
On that note, I think that Everton could certainly be looking at a return of around 6-9 points from their remaining games such is the difficult run-in that they have, whilst a sudden Coronavirus outbreak would be a huge hammer blow.
Prediction = 7 points
16 = Leeds United
| Opposition | Venue |
| Southampton | Home |
| Watford | Away |
| Crystal Palace | Away |
| Manchester City | Home |
| Arsenal | Away |
| Brighton | Home |
| Chelsea | Home |
| Brentford | Away |
Despite holding a seven point gap to the relegation zone, Leeds can’t be entirely ruled out but their run-in looks favourable, especially given that only Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea look like their hardest games to come.
Leeds however should be relieved with their four remaining home matches because Southampton and Brighton are both beatable at present, whilst they can afford to just go out and play City and Chelsea like underdogs at Elland Road without fear.
On the road, victory over Watford meanwhile should be enough realistically to keep Leeds up whilst Palace and Brentford away are both winnable, whereas the tricky trip to Arsenal should be something which Leeds could relish if they adopt the same approach against City a week earlier.
I however have a feeling based on present performances that Leeds will lose to both City and Arsenal but if they can beat Southampton and Watford, they could be on for a decent haul of points to secure survival.
Points prediction = 9 points
Shock Relegation For Toffees?
If add the above points predictions of all five clubs and assuming Leeds hypothetically don’t leapfrog any other clubs in terms of positions, Jesse Marsch’s Whites would secure safety by six points.
Burnley meanwhile would snatch the final safety position by just three points, whilst in the process condemning Everton to their first relegation from the top-flight since 1950-51 Old First Division season.
Watford and Norwich would occupy the latter two relegation spots in an instant return to the Championship, after just one season back in the Premier League for both clubs.
| Position | Team | Points |
| 16th | Leeds United | 38 |
| 17th | Burnley | 35 |
| 18th | Everton | 32 |
| 19th | Watford | 29 |
| 20th | Norwich | 22 |
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