Who will stay up and who will go down in the Premier League relegation fight?
28 Rafa Benitez
Points Manager: Benitez stood by the team who appointed him in March 2016 to replace Steve McClaren. The Spaniard failed to keep the beleaguered club up but took them straight back to the Premier League from the Championship last season. Consistency has been lacking this term with some humiliating losses going hand in hand with standout performances. With only one loss in their past seven games and n impressive win over Manchester United has seen Newcastle start to pick up the points and if they can keep a bit of stability, there should be not sweating come the last few weeks of the campaign.
Brighton 28 Chris Hughton
Points Manager: The Seasiders got off to a poor start to the campaign and many were tipping them for the drop as early as September. However Hughton got his side firing in October and November to see them climb the table. More wobbles followed but a win over West Ham and draws with Stoke City and Southampton has them on a three-game streak without loss. Next up is Swansea City and a positive result in that one still mean that survival should be achievable. I hate to sound negative, but their deep and impressive run in the FA Cup will spread their resources thin and they will need to hope the injury list stays short if they want a third term at the top.
Crystal Palace 27 Roy Hodgson
Points Manager: Palace were breaking the kind of records no one wants at the beginning of the season, chalking up seven losses in a row. Hodgson stepped in to replace Frank De Boer after the first four of those defeats and righted the ship somewhat come November as Palace went on an eight-game unbeaten run. More losses have come recently, but against stronger clubs such as Arsenal and Everton, while they continued to pick up points against fellow strugglers. While they cannot expect too much this weekend against Tottenham Hotspur, the Hodgson factor will manage to keep them safe once again.
Swansea City 27 Carlos Carvalhal
Points Manager: With only three wins all season, the powers that be at the Welsh club called time on Paul Clement as coach on Boxing Day. Not the nicest of Christmas gifts, but the introduction of Carvalhal has been a welcome present for the Swansea faithful as they have slowly but surely started to look like the Premier League side that won over so many neutrals since their promotion from the Championship in 2011. They have the proverbial sixpointer against Brighton up next at the weekend but three wins (including against Liverpool and Arsenal) and two draws in their past five games is just the sort of form any manager or fan of a club hovering over the relegation zone craves and Carvalhal should guide them to safety.
Huddersfield Town 27 David Wagner
Points Manager: Huddersfield were sitting pretty in the top three early in the season and there was talk of another Leicester City-style shock on the cards. However, not all fairy tales come true and it turned into a nightmare for Wagner’s side as they picked up only four more wins before the victory over Bournemouth earlier this month. On paper, you would think facing bottom side West Brom would be a welcome fixture, but Huddersfield have lost to all three teams that began the day at the bottom of the table this season. The likeable German has been a breath of fresh air in the Premier League, but they have been in free fall and will go down.
Southampton 26 Mauricio Pellegrino
Points Manager: Southampton head into a difficult stretch of games starting with Burnley this weekend. Then it is Stoke City, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Manager Pellegrino will also have to make do without key defender Maya Yoshida during this period as he is added to a growing injury list. Pellegrino has also lost midfielders Steven Davis and Sofiane Boufal due to injuries. That said, a four-game unbeaten streak preceded the recent loss to Liverpool, and if they can keep up a sustained run of form, and keep their confidence, there is no reason why they should have to depend on getting something from the final game of the season where they will face champions-elect Manchester City.
Stoke City 25 Paul Lambert
Points Manager: Things started fairly positively for Stoke as they beat Arsenal and drew with Manchester United inside the opening four games of the season. Needless to say it did not last, and they have picked up only five more wins all season. Mark Hughes was shown the door in January and in came Lambert, tasked with keeping them up. That task looks beyond him as the losses continue to out weight the positive results. The Saints should start planning for a summer rebuild as Championship football beckons next term.