3 reasons why Steve Bruce is failing at Newcastle United

Newcastle United are among the favourites to be relegated this season, this after finishing 13th with 44 points last season. The drop off has been significant and it seems that manager Steve Bruce is hitting a wall.

Bruce’s appointment did not go down well with fans of the club but he did seem to punch above his weight and only finished last season 1 point behind the total that Rafa Benitez had achieved the season before. That was an eyeopener in many ways and there was a belief that Bruce could do well at the club. Owner Mike Ashley saw Bruce’s appointment as a win-win situation given that Bruce was a long standing fan of the club and that Benitez was always asking for reinforcements, Ashley knew that Bruce wouldn’t ask so many questions and just get on with the job.

But this season Bruce’s Newcastle have been exposed and with just 9 games left to play for them they are only 2 points from the drop and in 17th place. The Magpies recent defeat to Brighton was huge. If the 3-0 score line wasn’t enough Brighton were a direct rival for survival and Graham Potter’s side have now moved 4 points clear of Newcastle.

So what has gone wrong with Newcastle, where Fulham could catch them and send the Magpies down, let’s take a look.

Joe Linton

It doesn’t seem fair to blame one player for a teams failings and let’s make it clear Newcastle as a team are failing. But when a club are not getting the wins and not scoring goals eyes will always fall to who is up front. In this case the Magpies have Joelinton a player who broke the clubs transfer record for £40m.

Joelinton has been, up until now, one of the poorest signings in Premier League history. He has scored 3 league goals in 59 games for the club and seven overall from 70. Indeed since starting his career back in 2014 Joelinton has only scored 26 league goals overall. When Newcastle have needed the goals to make that difference Joelinton has been wanting on too many occasions.

The Graeme Jones factor

Newcastle needed to be shaken up and in January Steve Bruce brought in Graeme Jones who had worked previously with the Belgian national side and also Bournemouth as his assistant manager. Jones got to it and changed up tactics within the team and prepared them for the Everton game at the end of January. It is thought that Bruce wasn’t the happiest person at the club that Jones had stepped in in this way. However Newcastle played one of their best games of the season to beat Everton 2-0.

Since then Bruce has taken some of that power back and although it hasn’t been confirmed it’s possible that the two are not seeing eye to eye. Bruce is stubborn and playing his way and he is letting that blind him in how the club must make advancements.

Luck has run out

Every club needs some luck along the way but under Bruce Newcastle have had some decisions go there way and have been able to not play very well but escape with a last minute win or get a draw.

Take the Leeds United match earlier this season, true Leeds ran out 5-2 winners but at one stage Newcastle were well in the game and it was 2-2. However the club had been very poor that day and Leeds would have been wondering how the score line was so close. On that day Newcastle didn’t get away with it.

But how about even earlier in the season when Tottenham completely outplayed Bruce’s team and yet in the 90th minute the score was just 1-0 to Jose Mourinho’s team. Very late on in injury time Newcastle who had been very poor throughout the game were awarded a penalty, from which they scored from- and it was a disputed one at that. The penalty which ended the game at 1-1 was the clubs only shot on target the whole game.

It just seems that especially since the New Year that Newcastle’s luck has run out. Could they go down? The answer is a yes given their second half to the season form where from a possible 45 points they have earned just 10 and won just two times, scoring just 11 goals in that time. Judging on the last 15 games Newcastle would be in 19th place and have earned 2 points less than Championship bound Sheffield United which just underlines how problematic the clubs decline has been.

It looks like that final place will go down to the wire between Fulham and Newcastle, and it will be fascinating to see how this one plays out. As for Steve Bruce he will most certainly lose his job if the club are relegated but if they stay up, even by finishing in 17th place you get the feeling that his close friend and club owner Mike Ashley will be more than happy to keep Bruce on the payroll, at the dismay of the fans.

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Premier League Game of the Week: Liverpool 0-1 Fulham

This game between Liverpool and Fulham only had 1 goal, but what a significant and history making game it was all the same.

You see Liverpool have never lost 5 games in a row at home before, but that’s old news. The defeat to Fulham made it six games in a row, Liverpool in their 139 year history have, at least for this period, never looked so poor. This is all the while astonishing given that for the past 18 months the club has arguably been the best club side in the world. How funny and quite complex football can be and the implosion of this great club chortles along at rapid speed.

So devastating has Liverpool’s form been that one has to question if they will be playing in the Champions League next season? This comes after reaching the final in 2018 and winning the competition the year after. The defeat to Fulham has left Liverpool 7 points adrift of a top four place and for now they look out of contention. However surely one would assume with the players that the Reds boast they will find their swagger again before the end of the season to recharge their batteries.

For now the game at Anfield swung on a different story and that was Fulham’s possible survival. The Cottagers have looked destined for a speedy return to the Championship for much of the season but since December Scott Parker has got his troops pointing in the right direction. Their hunger and desire has been brilliant albeit the majority of their results in the past three months have ended in draws, but by and large they are picking up points here and there and avoiding defeats. That’s how you survive in arguably the worlds most competitive league.

The only goal of the game in which Fulham would win 1-0 came just before half time. Mario Lemina was today’s hero for Parker’s side he had a bit to do but the ball was nicely set up for him in the area and he was able to score with relative ease. Up until the goal it was Fulham who were on the front foot, this in itself seems bizarre that the Cottagers would have chances and time on the ball at Anfield and indeed Liverpool would finish the game with just 3 shots on target.

Inevitably Liverpool had their best moments in possession in the 2nd half but made no real threat on goal in the final third and had just 1 real chance in this period. It was another limp display from the champions and for Fulham more glory on Merseyside given that they had beaten Everton here a few weeks ago by 2-0.

Will Fulham stay up? The omens are looking good for Parker’s team because of the fight they have shown and they have reduced a seven point gap to just goal difference over Brighton. Fulham could also have a challenge at Newcastle in 16th place given that the Magpies are only 1 point in front of Fulham.

As for Lemina that was his first goal of the season and scoring the winning goal against the champions he would have taken that to be his debut of the campaign.

If you beat the champions surely that will only reinforce the belief that you are going to stay up. Brighton, Newcastle and even perhaps Burnley in 15th place will be on high alert and the last few weeks of the Premier League season will be unmissable.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players of Week 27

Manchester City finally lost a game and to all of the teams who could have been against they wouldn’t want to lose to their arch rivals Manchester United but that’s exactly what happened as United ran out 2-0 winners. It doesn’t change the league standing much and City are 11 points in front of their rivals. Nevertheless it was a great result for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and they now look a shoe in for a top 4 place.

Liverpool lost their 6th game at home in a row in what is now a stunning downfall for the current champions. They have dropped to 8th place as Fulham beat them 1-0.

Let’s take a look at the players who made the grade this week in the fantasy football team for the Premier League, the formation being used is 4-4-2.

Goalkeeper: Alphonse Areola- Fulham 7pts

Fulham didn’t just beat Liverpool at Anfield they also kept a clean sheet as they won the game 1-0. Areola had to make some good saves and keep focused throughout and that was the keeper’s 9th clean sheet so far and he has a total of 39 points.

Defender: Matt Doherty- Tottenham 6pts

Matt Doherty put in a strong performance for Tottenham as his confidence grows as they easily beat Crystal Palace 4-1. On top of his performance the player also assisted for the clubs 3rd goal and set his side well onto victory. Doherty’s value is 6m.

Defender: Luke Shaw- Manchester United 8pts

Luke Shaw had a weekend to remember as Manchester United beat their rivals in the famed derby 2-0. Not only did United win but they won at the Etihad and also Shaw scored the 2nd goal to win the game. It was Shaw’s first goal of the season and what a time to get it. The defender now has 45 points so far.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 5pts

Especially in the second half of the season Ola Aina for Fulham has come on, if he isn’t scoring goals which he can do from the back four he is doing his prime job of defending. The player was under considerable pressure against Liverpool but put in a sterling job to shut the champions out. Aina has 41 points and has helped to keep 8 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Michael Keane- Everton 5pts

Michael Keane has been one of Everton’s best defenders and helped to keep his 7th clean sheet of the season as Everton beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in their last game. Keane has been in good form this year and has 32 points so far.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 6pts

Bruno Fernandes is so pivotal to Manchester United and he proved once again how important he is by scoring a very early penalty as Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-0 away from home. That was Fernandes’ 16th goal of the season so far.

Midfielder: Gareth Bale- Tottenham 9pts

Gareth Bale is on fire right now and following his fantastic performance against Burnley, Bale turned it on again to score another 2 goals as Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at home. Bale now has 5 goals and has amassed 29 points.

Midfielder: Mason Mount- Chelsea 6pts

Mason Mount keeps scoring important goals for Chelsea and he has been one of the Blues’ most important players so far in this campaign. Mount has scored 5 goals and has 48 points in one of his best seasons as a professional.

Midfielder: James Ward-Prowse- Southampton 6pts

James Ward-Prowse started the season very positively but in recent months had taken a step back and of course a few weeks out due to injury didn’t help. But he stepped up to open the scoring with a penalty as Southampton recorded a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.

Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 12pts

It was another stunning weekend for England’s number 1 striker Harry Kane. Kane scored 2 goals and also assisted in another. Kane has now scored an incredible 16 goals but also assisted in a further 13 and he has 89 points. That makes Kane the best player in all of the fantasy leagues competitions so far.

Striker: Kelechi Iheanacho- Leicester 4pts

Kelechi Iheanacho scored his 3rd goal of the season to help Leicester come back against Brighton and eventually win the game 2-1. The forward isn’t normally a regular but has been given the chance because of injuries and has scored a few goals lately. He currently has 10 points overall but could get more opportunities and his value is 6m.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 24

Manchester City have gone 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League and at this moment another league title looks inevitable for Pep Guardiola’s side. City swept Tottenham aside by beating them 3-0 at the weekend to win their 16th game of the season.

Leicester were brilliant as they stunned an out of sorts Liverpool by coming back from a goal down to beat the current champions 3-1. Leicester have 46 points and that is the same as 2nd placed Manchester United who have won just once in their last five games. Liverpool look out of the title race now and they are 13 points behind Manchester City and the league leaders have a game in hand over them.

Everton, Tottenham and Leeds have dropped off the pace for a European position as they were all beaten at the weekend but Arsenal beat Leeds 4-2 and they are just 5 points from a possible European finish.

Let’s check out the team of the week below and you can see if any of your players have made the grade.

Goalkeeper: Ederson Moraes- Manchester City 10pts

Ederson earned a huge 10 points as he kept a clean sheet against a strong opponent in Tottenham as Manchester City won 3-0. Ederson kept his 14th clean sheet of the season but the story of this game was that Ederson earned extra points as he actually assisted in one of the goals, very rare for a goal keeper.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 7pts

Ola Aina had a superb game for Fulham as they won at Everton 2-0 in perhaps an unlikely result. The beauty of his game is that he helped keep a clean sheet and helped give Fulham 3 huge points and he assisted in the opening goal to cap off a great game for the defender. He is the top defender at Fulham and has 22 points so far.

Defender: Matthew Lowton- Burnley 9pts

Burnley beat Crystal Palace very convincingly at the weekend 3-0 and Matthew Lowton not only kept a clean sheet to earn the points but he also scored the last goal for Sean Dyche’s side. He has 28 points so far.

Defender: Joao Cancelo- Manchester City 5pts

The defender has been one of the best for Manchester City this season and is an integral part of the team. He earned 5 points as City beat Tottenham 3-0 and that means he has kept 12 clean sheets this season and with 64 fantasy points earned is currently the number 1 defender at the club.

Defender: Lewis Dunk- Brighton 5pts

Lewis Dunk now has 28 points for Brighton and he is the best defender for the club presently. Dunk kept his seventh clean sheet of the season and that is impressive for a club like Brighton, who at times, have struggled this season. His value is 7m.

Midfielder: Ilkay Gundogan- Manchester City 10pts

If Manchester City win the league then Ilkay Gundogan would have been a big part of the reason, he has simply been superb for the club and earned a staggering 10 points this week. Gundogan scored 2 goals against Tottenham and now has 13 goals and has also assisted another 5 times so far.

Midfielder: Rodrigo- Manchester City 6pts

Rodrigo opened the scoring for City as they beat Tottenham 3-0. He had to keep his cool to convert the penalty and ultimately that set up the rest of the game. It was an important goal for the midfielder as it was his 1st league goal of the season.

Midfielder: Ruben Neves- Wolves 6pts

Wolves have been under pressure lately but Ruben Neves helped ease that as they beat Southampton away from home 2-1. Neves opened the scoring for his club and then assisted in the match winner for an all round great performance.

Midfielder: Johann Gudmundsson- Burnley 6pts

Burnley went a long way to staying up by beating Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home and there was joy for Gudmundsson who has suffered a few injuries this season but scored the first goal which set up his team for all 3 points.

Striker: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- Arsenal 14pts

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has had a poor season by his standards by the Arsenal striker was back to his very best as he helped the Gunners beat Leeds United 4-2. Aubameyang scored a fantastic hat-trick including a penalty to put his name back amongst the very best in the Premier League. He has 8 goals so far in the league this season.

Striker: Jay Rodriguez- Burnley 6pts

Jay Rodriguez was able to earn six points at the weekend as Burnley beat Crystal Palace 3-0. Rodriguez scored the 2nd goal after just 10 minutes and assisted in the clubs third goal to wrap up a great win. Rodriguez has scored just once now but he has been injured for a long spell and has a total of 3 points as he was on minus before.

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Cheating in football led to Mike Dean’s bizarre decision to send off West Ham’s Tomas Soucek

One of the biggest stories that came out of the Premier League this past weekend had to do with VAR, which isn’t a surprise but also the English referee Mike Dean who made an error in sending off West Ham’s Tomas Soucek.

The incident was during the Fulham vs West Ham game which ended 0-0 and the game was so dire that the red card, in a way elevated it to the back pages and all over the internet.

The moment happened in the final minute when Soucek and the Fulham player Aleksanader Mitrovic seemed to collide. What had happened is that Soucek and Mitrovic were near one another and anticipating when the ball was going to be crossed in. Instead of getting caught up with Mitrovic, Soucek attempted to get clear and raise his arm intending not to hit Mitrovic but to raise it over Mitrovic’s head. He failed in doing that as Mitrovic of course moved at the same time and his elbow hit Mitrovic in the face.

This is where it gets interesting.

Replays show that Mike Dean had a view of what had happened but the game was going to carry on, then of course VAR stopped the game and asked Dean to go to his monitor, which he did. It was there that Dean reportedly viewed the incident 21 times, at least according to most media pundits he did. This is where, for most, the confusion sets in.

Dean had that opportunity to keep watching the replay, now if you are going to watch 21 times or at least he did watch many many times you must have a doubt. Were we not told at the beginning of the season that the incident had to be clear and obvious? So even if Dean did think an elbow was intentionally involved why did he hesitate?, he must have had his doubts.

Let’s make it very clear Dean made an error, a really poor mistake for a referee who has overseen over 500 Premier League games. But he isn’t fully to blame. Other factors were involved which the media have decided to ignore.

The first being that Soucek’s other hand was clenched like a fist when he struck Mitrovic. The second is that Mitrovic when struck went down too easy like he had been struck badly. The third is that cheating in football has got to such a level that we have seen the Soucek incident happen in every country that plays football where the elbow was very much intended. This incident is not as clear cut as it sounds, and West Ham manager David Moyes was emphatically wrong to say that VAR should not have brought it to the attention of Dean in the first place. Isn’t that what the tech is there for to look into incidents.

The bottom line is that Dean made an error and the FA have rescinded Soucek’s red card. The problem for Dean is that it is his 2nd rescinded card in a row after he sent off Southampton’s Jan Bednarek by mistake. These are errors despite his experience that are building up and one wouldn’t be surprised if he quit his job soon. The eyes and cameras will be burning up every time he officiates a game now.

Criticism from fans is fair enough and the pressure will now be on Dean at every incident he looks over and every card he gives out, even a booking will be questioned. However some ‘fans’ have crossed the line and Dean has reported to the police that death threats have been made against him. This goes too far and whilst most of the threats are simply being made by keyboard warriors, there needs to be a zero tolerance attitude to such behaviour. It is after all just a game of football. Of course nothing has been affected by it either as the sending off happened in the final seconds of the game, changed nothing and Soucek has been rescued by the FA.

Such has been the pressure on Dean that he has requested to the FA not to referee any Premier League games this weekend and the request has been granted. However all eyes will be on the Leicester and Brighton FA Cup match which takes place tonight- the referee, Mike Dean.

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EPL Predictions Gameweek 1

The 2020-21 English Premier League season kicks off in London on Saturday lunchtime as Fulham play host to Arsenal.

Eight matches in all will take place on the opening weekend, concluding with Brighton & Hove Albion hosting Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

With Manchester United and Manchester City competing in the latter stages of European competition last month the two clubs have been given the opening weekend off, to explain the shorter schedule.

Here’s a look at each of the weekend’s games:

Fulham vs Arsenal

Arsenal have won the FA Cup and Community Shield in Mikel Arteta’s first couple of months in charge and should fancy their chances of picking up three points in their season opener too. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be the obvious selection for your fantasy team given the forward has scored 22 goals in each of the past two seasons, whilst Dani Ceballos (3.50m) and Damian Martinez (1.0m) offer good value for money in this game.

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Top Ligue 1 Strikers in 2018/19: Moussa Dembele

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Moussa Dembele came 6th in the Ligue 1 rankings as the best striker and he finished the season earning 65 points finishing just 1 point behind Andy Delort. The Lyon striker who helped his side to a 3rd place finish thus providing them with a chance to play in next seasons Champions League scored 15 goals and also assisted in a further 4, making him have quite a successful personal season.

Dembele is just 22 and it is interesting to see how his career has developed because even though he was born in France the wealth of his experience as a footballer is in the United Kingdom. That is because Premier League side Fulham bought him from the youth team of PSG when he was just 16. After spending three seasons with the club where he only scored 15 times he was sold to Scottish club Celtic where he fared quite better scoring 26 goals and winning six trophies with the Bhoys.

Lyon finally came in for him in 2018 and the chance to move back to France was simply too great and it would be to one of the best clubs. At Lyon in his debut season he has had a very good one, 15 goals is a fantastic return when we consider this is from just 21 starts. He did play a total of 33 games for the club last season but 12 of those started from the bench.

Dembele did not score in his first two games of the season and it wasn’t until his 3rd match that he chalked up the points although it was worth waiting for as he scored two goals in Lyon’s 3-0 win over Dijon earning him 8 points in the process. This would equal his best single match points tally which he repeated a further two times when Lyon beat Toulouse 5-1 and when they drew against Strasbourg 2-2.

His best form of the season was at the end of September and lasted for a month, scoring points in 4 consecutive games. He earned 16 points in that period.

The worst moments for Dembele came in February as he couldn’t find the net in 3 games in a row. Dembele ended the season consistently being able to earn an average of 4 points but in his last game of the season away to Nimes, which Lyon won 3-2 he wasn’t able to score a goal and didn’t earn any points.

This past season was Dembele’s best as a player and he looks frighteningly good when we consider his age. His value is 5m and that looks set to rise at the beginning of the upcoming season as he really fits into his role at Lyon.

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EPL Best XI – Week 34

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With the Premier League now very much entering the business end of the season, and with just a few matches remaining to decide the respective fates of several teams, there was a full schedule of games in England’s top-flight this past weekend. Once again, the spread of fixtures was great with Newcastle winning at Leicester on Friday night, six games taking place on Saturday, title challengers Man City and Liverpool winning their respective games on Sunday and Arsenal travelling to Watford on Monday. Results this weekend meant that both City and Liverpool are guaranteed to finish first and second in either combination. With that in mind, let’s take a look and see which players performed the best in their position, using a 4-3-3 formation.

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Manchester City have a problem, they are not scoring enough goals

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Manchester City are still on course to win the quadruple and create history this season and whilst the club are winning games and staying competitive, they have one problem- they are not scoring enough goals.

Sure winning 1-0 or 7-0 is still 3 points and still a victory but at the same time champions-elect teams usually win bigger and better and that is not what we are seeing from Pep Guardiola’s team. This is a team which is basically Barcelona mark 2, and yet the goals are not always flowing. The other worry weirdly enough is that City are playing excellent football and dominating games and creating so many chances- if they play a poor team and miss some clear cut chances, they will get another chance? What happens if they are playing quality and they do it- it could be the difference between staying in a competition and going out.

When did City stop scoring goals? It started with the Carabao Cup final where in 120 minutes of football they couldn’t score a goal against a team in Chelsea that a few days before they had put 6 goals past. In the end what did it matter, they won on penalties and picked up their first trophy of the season.

Their next league game was at home to West Ham, and they were expected to thrash The Hammers- they had in the past- and whilst they dominated the game they only won 1-0. At such a slight score they obviously left themselves open to a shock equaliser which would have dented their league title chances. Where was that 2nd goal?

Another 1-0 win followed at Bournemouth. Should a multi millionaire team be putting their fans through so much heartache? A tasty 3-1 victory against Watford followed but all 3 goals came in the 2nd half. Back to the cup matches and they had no problems when they destroyed Schalke 7-0 in the Champions League making a mockery in the process of the lack of quality that can make the knock out stages. A lucky 3-2 win in the FA Cup over Swansea followed, But at least the goals had rolled back- 10 in their last 2 games. But again in the league those goals would be tuned down.

The clubs next two games were against two bottom three teams in Fulham and Cardiff, both wins so no complaints but 4 goals scored in those matches when it should have been 10. Last weekend City took a break from the league and made it to the FA Cup final when they beat Brighton 1-0 in a dour semi final that could have gone either way.

Again it seems harsh to criticise City because they are getting the wins and playing great football. But evidently they are not scoring as many goals as they should do. This may not bode well for the remaining games, the crunch ones, or perhaps the team will have the final trick on us and are just saving themselves. Whatever the deal it will be a fascinating end to the season for the club.

The Premier League relegation battle has begun between Cardiff, Burnley and Southampton

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Though it is still mathematically possible the grandest of miracles aside, both Huddersfield and Fulham will be relegated from the Premier League this season. To put the clubs fate into more prespective there is 21 points left on the board and Huddersfield are 16 points from safety and Fulham are 13 and we can firmly discount either team from making a stunning comeback.

That leaves just one more team who will be playing in the Championship next season. And here are the main contenders: First up is the team in 18th and currently going down Cardiff City who have 28 points. Their last league game ended up being a massive result for Neil Warnock’s side who beat West Ham 2-0. Had they lost that game they would have lost touch with safety and been five points behind. Instead there is just a two point gap to the two other contenders.

Both Burnley and Southampton have 30 points each, although it is interesting to note that Southampton has a game in hand over Burnley and so does Cardiff. So out of these 3 teams who is the favourite to go down? The bookmakers have made Cardiff the favourites since there is a 2 point gap, but the best gage of this surely are the clubs remaining fixtures.

Cardiff will have to play 4 of their 7 games away from home and they have some very tough fixtures. Just look at their next two for evidence, Chelsea followed by Manchester City. They also have to play Liverpool at home and finish the season away to Manchester United. It is unlikely they will be picking up many more points although they will fancy getting maximum points against Fulham and Crystal Palace- the Palace match is at home and by the time they face Fulham, the Cottagers should be properly relegated.

Burnley have some tough games also and it should be noted that in a few weeks time they will come head to head with Cardiff in a fantastic ‘six pointer’ which will be played at home. But Sean Dyche’s team have a nightmare run in that sees the last 4 league games having to play Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal. That really could seal their fate.

Finally there is Southampton who out of the three teams look on paper to have the easiest run in and if they can continue their solid form they should be fine. The Saints only have to face one top 4 side in Liverpool in the run in and even then they will be at home. But they have a smooth run in which includes home games against Bournemouth and Huddersfield and they should be safe this season.

The relegation battle is hotting up, that is evidently clear and it seems like a straight run off between Burnley and Cardiff, our tip is that Burnley with such a tough final run in may just be the third and final team to be relegated.