When the English Premier League returns after a three-month hiatus, the battle to avoid the three relegation spots might be the most compelling storyline. Currently, just eight points separate the six teams that are in serious relegation danger.
Of those six teams, here are three that find themselves in the most danger as the season restarts. You can always find Premier league predictions from BetQL for every match day. Keep your eye on the following teams:
- Norwich City has the longest road ahead of them to avoid relegation and little reasons for optimism.
- Aston Villa faces the most challenging schedule of any team in a relegation fight heading down the stretch.
- Brighton will restart the season outside the relegation zone, but they remain vulnerable to a late-season slide.
Norwich City
The Canaries are the safest bet to be relegated with nine games left. For what it’s worth, they are only seven points from safety. However, they have scored the second-fewest goals in the league this season and have the worst goal difference.
They also have to find a way to leapfrog three teams. Not long before the break, Norwich scored a massive win over Leicester City, although that momentum was quickly killed with a disappointing loss to Sheffield United.
To make matters worse, they have games with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City left on the schedule.
However, head-to-head meetings with fellow relegation-embattled clubs Brighton, Watford, and West Ham give the Canaries a glimmer of hope.
Aston Villa
One win is all it would take right now to drag Aston Villa out of the relegation zone. But the Villains will need a complete turnaround from the form they had pre-pandemic.
The Birmingham club lost its last five matches in all competitions before the season was suspended. They’ve also conceded the most goals in the league this season, so they have a lot of issues to sort out. The good news is that they have a game in hand, giving them 10 matches left while everyone else has nine.
On the other hand, six of those 10 games are against teams in the top half of the table, most of whom are battling for a Champions League spot. If Aston Villa is going to stay up, they’ll have to do things the hard way. You can find EPL picks from BetQL not only for every Aston Villa game but all EPL games for the rest of the season.
Brighton & Hove Albion
The Seagulls barely survived last year’s relegation fight and right now have some of the best EPL odds to be relegated this season. Believe it or not Brighton is playing with fire again in 2020.
Right now, West Ham United, Watford, and Bournemouth are just two points back. If two of those three teams pass Brighton, they’ll be in the bottom-3. Keep in mind the Seagulls haven’t won a match since December 28. That’s 10 straight matches across all competitions without a win.
Of course, six draws during that span have helped their cause. But Brighton will need some wins if they’re going to survive. They’ll return from the break with games against Arsenal, Leicester City, and Manchester United. That leaves the door open for other teams to pass them.
Granted, games with Norwich City, Southampton, and Newcastle will be easier. However, Liverpool and Manchester City are also on the schedule in July, which won’t make things easy for Graham Potter to keep Brighton afloat.