A win for Burnley at Watford on Saturday April 30 will leave Everton five points from safety. Are the Toffees about to end 71 years in the top flight? Or will there be a sting in the tail with Leeds United dropping into the bottom three? Let’s look at the Premier League relegation zone and the latest odds.
Sometimes sacking your manager works. Every one of the bottom five in the Premier League have changed their boss this season. Many were shocked when Burnley removed Sean Dyche earlier this month, but the decision has so far worked for them.
Burnley have earned seven points from three games played since Dyche was kicked out. That’s taken them out of the bottom three and on April 26, find themselves two points clear of 18th placed Everton. They have played a game more than Everton but now have a better goal difference and winning form. That’s something Everton simply don’t have.
Saturday sees them away to 19th placed Watford. The Hornets are nine points from safety with five games remaining and like Norwich below them, look doomed. You can get odds of around 1/200 on them being relegated.
A Burnley win at Vicarage Road will make it three straight league wins. Watford have lost their last ten home games, so three points for a revitalized Burnley side do look likely. Then they host inconsistent Aston Villa and travel to Tottenham. Their final two games are a trip to Villa and then a home game against Newcastle who have escaped all this relegation business. Burnley are 6/4 at Betfair to be relegated.
It’s even money at Bet365 that Everton are relegated to the Championship. They are a club with ambitious plans and a new ground on the way. That new ground isn’t supposed to be hosting Championship matches.
Everton have only seven points from their last ten league games. All those points came at Goodison Park including wins over Manchester United and Newcastle United. Away form is the reason they are in such trouble with just one point from their last ten on the road. If only they’d held onto that 2-1 lead at Burnley.
Frank Lampard has been appointed as boss, but he hasn’t been able to sort out those away day blues. Of their final five games, three are at home and Everton need at least to win two of them. It probably won’t be the one against Chelsea on May 1.
They then have their final two away games. May 8 sees them go to an inconsistent Leicester and then three days later, it’s a vital game at Watford. These two sides met in an FA Cup final once, you can argue that Everton beating them on May 11 is far more important. Their final two games are both at home against Brentford and Crystal Palace. Both are winnable fixtures and their best chance of surviving.
Leeds United are five points clear of the bottom three after their goalless draw at Crystal Palace. They have played a game more than Everton but have a worse goal difference. William Hill will give you 4/1 on Leeds being relegated but that’s a decent bet.
The next three Leeds fixtures sees them host Manchester City, travel to Arsenal, and then play Chelsea at home. Not the kind of games in which Leeds can be expected to pile up the points, if any at all. They then host in-form Brighton before a final day trip to Brentford who are difficult to beat on home soil. That could well be their last game in the Premier League for a while.
