How Southampton could be relegated this weekend

Southampton's relegation from the Premier League could be confirmed this weekend. Here, we explain how.

What is relegation?

The teams who finish the season in the bottom three places of the Premier League table - 18th, 19th and 20th - drop down to the Championship, the second tier of English football.

Those teams are replaced in the Premier League for the following season by three promoted clubs - the sides who finish first and second in the Championship, plus the winners of that division's end-of-season playoffs.

How could Southampton go down this weekend?

Southampton are 20th in the table and, with eight matches remaining, they have 24 points to play for.

Ivan Juric's side currently have 19 fewer points than the team in 17th place, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Premier League 2024/25

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
14	Spurs TOT	30	+11	34
15	Everton EVE	30	-5	34
16	West Ham WHU	30	-17	34
17	Wolves WOL	30	-17	29
18	Ipswich IPS	30	-33	20
19	Leicester LEI	30	-42	17
20	Southampton SOU	30	-49	10

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This Saturday, Wolves travel to Ipswich Town, before Saints face Tottenham Hotspur away on Sunday.

See: The Big Question: Can Ipswich beat Wolves again to spark a great escape?

Southampton would be relegated this weekend if:

- They lose at Spurs AND
- Wolves win at Ipswich

This would increase the gap between Southampton and Wolves to 22 points, with only 21 points available to play for.

IPS

14:00

WOL

TOT

13:00

SOU

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Southampton cannot be relegated this weekend if ANY of these happen:

- They draw at Spurs
- They win at Spurs
- Wolves draw at Ipswich
- Wolves lose at Ipswich

Any of those four scenarios would mean the gap is no bigger than 21 points, with 21 points still available.

If not this weekend, when could it happen?

Southampton's relegation would be confirmed as soon as the points gap between themselves and the 17th-placed team becomes bigger than the number of points that are still available to them.

After they have played Aston Villa on Saturday 12 April, Saints will have 18 points available from six matches, so they would be relegated that weekend if they fall 19 points behind the 17th-placed team.

Could Southampton actually stay up?

It may seem highly unlikely but yes, Southampton could still collect more points this season than three teams. While they only have 10 points at present, their maximum possible tally is 34, which is more than Wolves (29), Ipswich (20) and Leicester City (17) currently have. 

Might Southampton be the worst team in Premier League history?

Even if Southampton are relegated, they still have something to play for - to avoid having the lowest ever points tally in a Premier League season.

That unwanted record currently belongs to Derby County, who finished with 11 points in 2007/08, one point more than Saints have now.

Juric is fully aware of that, telling the media before Wednesday's home match against Crystal Palace: "I don't want it to be that we are the worst team in the history of Premier League."

Leading 1-0 against Palace, Saints were poised to eradicate that possibility until Matheus Franca equalised in stoppage time. The 1-1 draw left them needing another two points to beat Derby's infamous total, but they have eight matches left in which to collect them.

Relegation battle - remaining matches

As per Southampton's situation, if Ipswich or Leicester fall more points behind the 17th-placed team than there are points still available, their relegation would also be confirmed.

Remaining Premier League fixtures