There are just 10 games to go in this enthralling season of Premier League Football. By now, traditionally at least five or six teams have been cut adrift from the pack and are left to scrap among themselves for survival. This year, however, is different. The top of the table has a familiar look about it and mid-table sees a few surprises with Burnley and Brighton overperforming, but the foot of the table is a different story altogether.
Currently, only 4 points separate Stoke City in 19th on 26 and West Ham in what would be considered safe in terms of position, in 13th on 30 points.
A bad run or a few good results could see everything change. Even teams like Bournemouth and Watford could find themselves dragged in with a few poor results.
Let's take a look at the man contenders though.
West Bromwich Albion
With 20 points from 28 games, the 'Boing-boing Baggies' look set to drop into the Championship once again. They are currently 6 points adrift of Stoke City in 19th and with Tottenham, Liverpool and Man United to play in their final 10 games things must look bleak for the Midlanders.
Stoke City
After changing managers recently The Potters have managed to secure a win and a couple of draws to keep them in touch but the worst goal difference in the premiership could harm them if they don't manage to escape the drop by points alone.
Throwing away valuable points against Burnley and Leicester recently has also hindered their resurgence under Paul Lambert. A 6-pointer looms against Southampton this weekend and then tough games with Man City, Tottenham and Arsenal. It may come down to the wire for Stoke with two winnable games in the last two of the season against Crystal Palace and Swansea.
Swansea City
Sitting third from bottom, the Welsh side has games against West Ham, Huddersfield and Southampton soon and could boost their hopes by getting a good few points before they meet top sides like Chelsea and Man City in April.
Crystal Palace
After a brief surge in form under ex-England boss Roy Hodgson, the Londoners have reverted to form and are finding wins difficult to come by.Their run-in over the next months looks pretty tough too as they face many sides from the top half like Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Watford.
But all may not be lost if they can maintain contact by then as their final two games are against current strugglers Stoke City and West Brom.
Southampton
Sitting just outside the drop zone Southampton has four games coming up that are all against fellow struggling teams and a few wins would certainly help. What they could probably do without is the added pressure of an FA Cup run and a quarter-final match against Wigan Athletic in amongst that.
Newcastle United
Rafa Benitez' side has played some impressive football this season but they seem incapable of holding onto a lead for a whole game, having thrown away a lead against Bournemouth, Burnley and Crystal Palace in 2018 already.
West Ham & Huddersfield
Both teams are on 30 points and may well be safe if they can avoid poor runs.
However, after a good start, Huddersfield have had a poor run of form and look like they could be dragged into the battle for survival if nothing changes.
So, in this most intriguing of seasons, there is still so much to play for with the title already on its way to Manchester. Where would my money go? I think it will go down to the last games of the season and joining West Brom will be Crystal Palace and Swansea.
