With just two points separating the bottom seven clubs, the 2022/23 relegation battle could be the closest ever.
This is only the third time in Premier League history that so many teams have been so tightly bunched at the foot of the table in the second half of the season.
Such a narrow gap has only ever happened before in February 2009 and January 2011.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | +15 | 75 |
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +35 | 71 |
| 5 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +28 | 67 |
| 6 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | +19 | 62 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +5 | 61 |
With such fine margins, every goal matters more.
When Everton were beating Southampton 1-0 at half-time on Saturday, they were 14th in the live table. But their 2-1 defeat dropped Everton to 19th, level with a Southampton side who are propping up the table.
That was one of three relegation duels happening simultaneously on a day full of drama.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' 1-0 win over West Ham United took them out of the relegation zone and put the Hammers there instead.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest leapfrogged Leicester City by beating them 2-0.
With so many teams involved in the fight, these significant "six-pointers" will be common. Indeed, in each of the next six rounds of fixtures there is at least one head-to-head between the current bottom eight clubs.
Matches between the bottom eight
| Matchweek | Relegation battles | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | BOU v NFO | WHU v EVE |
| 22 | NFO v LEE | |
| 23 | SOU v WOL | |
| 24 | EVE v LEE | WOL v BOU |
| 25 | LEE v SOU | WHU v NFO |
| 26 | NFO v EVE | SOU v LEI |
Forest are in a particularly important spell, with four of their next six fixtures coming against relegation rivals, starting with Saturday's trip to AFC Bournemouth.
Forest were in the relegation zone when the Premier League resumed on Boxing Day, while AFC Bournemouth were 14th and had appointed Gary O'Neil as their permanent head coach on the back of strong results.
The two sides have been heading in opposite directions since.
Forest are now the form team in the bottom half of the table, with back-to-back wins leaving them 13th, while AFC Bournemouth have lost all four of their matches since the Premier League returned.
However, AFC Bournemouth won the reverse match between the sides, coming from 2-0 down to triumph 3-2 in September.
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At the same time on Saturday, West Ham and Everton will go head-to-head at the London Stadium on the back of identical records since the league resumed: one draw, three defeats and a goal difference of -5.
David Moyes' Hammers will take heart from the fact they have won two of the last three matches against the Toffees, while Frank Lampard's side will draw confidence from winning this season's reverse fixture, a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park.
