The Premier League relegation battle is intensifying.
There are two relegation spots to be decided as basement boys Wolves have secured relegation.
Burnley, who are in second place at the bottom, are in a precarious position with just eight points, but with wins and draws in their last two games, there is a glimmer of hope that they will remain in the table.
West Ham occupy the final relegation spot in 18th place and are in the safe zone with two points with 11 games remaining.
However, an upturn in results and performances has given Nuno Espirito Santo’s side hope of upsets at Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and Leeds.
Sky Sports is tracking the battle for survival as five teams battle to avoid the final two relegation spots…
Break-in
Other than the Wolves, the rest of the bottom six teams all have 11 games left.
The fixture list favors Spurs and Leeds based on their opponents’ league position, with Forest, West Ham and Burnley all having more difficult games remaining.
When is the six pointer?
There will be some important clashes between the relegation rivals over the final three months of the season, with Leeds facing four of the bottom six sides in their final six games, including a final day trip to West Ham.
Here are six points that are likely to be key to deciding the relegation battle.
22nd March: Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest, live on Sky Sports 11th April: West Ham vs Wolves 18th April: Leeds vs Wolves, Forest vs Burnley 25th April: Wolves vs Tottenham 2nd May: Leeds vs Burnley 9th May: Tottenham vs Leeds 24th May: Burnley vs Wolves, West Ham vs Leeds
Prediction of supercomputer demotion…
As a result of last weekend’s result, West Ham gained one point from their goalless draw at home against Bournemouth after losing at home to Liverpool, narrowing the gap to 17th place Forest to two points.
However, the Opta supercomputer still lists the Hammers (70.8 per cent) as relegation candidates alongside Burnley (97.8 per cent) and Wolves (100 per cent).
Opta puts Forest’s chance of elimination at 23.2%, Spurs at just 4.8% and Leeds at just 2.2%.
How many points might I need?
In each of the past nine Premier League seasons, only teams who finished with 36 points or more avoided relegation.
Last season, 26 points would have been enough to keep them in the league, as the bottom three teams who performed very poorly – Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton – quickly returned to the Championship.
Spurs exploited this trio’s weaknesses to focus on winning the Europa League, but ended up in a dismal 17th place with 38 points, 13 points behind Leicester in 18th place.
But Tottenham do not have that luxury this season as they face the real possibility of being relegated to English football’s second tier for the first time since 1977.
The 40-point mark could very well be in the spotlight, as the teams in the relegation battle are much stronger than last season.
When the Premier League was a 20-team system, only three teams were relegated with more than 40 points: Sunderland (1996/97), Bolton (1997/98) and West Ham (2002/03), with the latter holding the record for the most relegated teams with 42 points.
15th place: Leeds
Leeds have lost just one of their last six league games and are in 15th place, six points behind the bottom three.
However, Daniel Farke’s side have only won one away game in the league, against Wolves in September, giving the game at Elland Road added significance as they have lost just three times this season (6-4).
16th place: Tottenham
“It would be the shock of the century. It would be absolutely mind-boggling to think they could disappear from this league, but I don’t think that will happen.”
Even if Gary Neville was confident his Premier League regulars would not be relegated, Spurs’ form suggests otherwise, with them sitting four points adrift in 16th place.
Igor Tudor’s side have gone nine league games without a win, are still without a win in 2026 and are battling a devastating absentee crisis.
17th place: Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest are 17th in the table, two points behind Spurs, and are without a win in four league games.
However, an encouraging performance in the defeat to Liverpool under new manager Vitor Pereira gave Forest hope that they would improve under the Portuguese.
18th place: West Ham
West Ham looked hopeless at the start of the year, until a big win over rivals Tottenham sealed their bid for relegation.
The Hammers have lost just once since the win in north London, giving them hope of avoiding relegation for the first time since 2011.
19th place: Burnley
Burnley look likely to return to the Championship soon.
Scott Parker’s side are in danger of eight points, having won just one of their last 18 league games.
20th place: Wolves
A 19-game winless start to the Premier League season effectively sealed Wolves’ fate.
Old Gold are 17 points from safety and will need a miracle to stay in the top flight for a ninth consecutive season.
