Premier League Relegation Preview

May 4, 2012
By: Deke Hardman

With just two games remaining, five teams are still battling for survival in the Premier League. The bookmakers seem to have dismissed the possibility of Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa being dragged into the mire, though with just three points separating four teams, nobody is safe yet.

Wolverhampton Wanderers fate was confirmed last month, after a run of twelve matches without a win. The gap of seven points between themselves and Blackburn Rovers in 19th place means that even if Terry Connor’s men win their final two matches, they are guaranteed to finish the season bottom of the division.

Blackburn have a huge match against Wigan on Monday evening, needing three points to give themselves any chance of climbing out of the relegation zone ahead of their final game at Chelsea, though their goal difference is a problem.

Of all the teams in the mix, only Bolton Wanderers, with -31 are worse off than Rovers, making their task all the more difficult. Bet 365 are offering a huge 15.0 (14/1) that Steve Kean’s men defy expectation and beat the drop.

Bolton were unable to climb out of the bottom three with their game in hand against Tottenham Hotspur midweek, losing 4-1. They host West on Sunday before travelling to Stoke City, and are best priced 2.0 (evens) to be relegated.

Queens Park Rangers will be confident ahead of their game with Stoke this weekend, but with a trip to top of the table Manchester City on the final day, they could well falter. Bet 365 are offering 1.91 (10/11) for them to make a return to the Championship.

Wigan Athletic are three points clear of Bolton and QPR, and are without doubt the form team going in to these final two games. A point in their game with Blackburn may be enough for them, though failing that they finish the season by hosting already relegated Wolves. You can get odds as high as 23.0 (22/1) for them to finish in the bottom three.

Finally, considering that only Wolves have worse form in the last eight games than Aston Villa, the 26.0 (25/1) that Bet 365 are offering for Alex McLeish’s men to go down seems very generous, though their goal difference could be what saves them.

Villa host fourth place Tottenham this weekend, before finishing with a tricky trip to Norwich City, whose safety was confirmed this week.

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