EPL: Relegation Frenzy!

Relegation Zone Trouble In EPL:
One game remains in the EPL season, one game only.  That allows for all teams to gain a potential of either 3, 1, or 0 points more then they already have.  Manchester United have already claimed the title, leading 2nd place Chelsea by 6 points going into the final weekend.  However, the bottom end of the table isn't so easily assured.  5 teams are within spitting distance of relegation.  One team, West Ham United, can't possibly climb out of the relegation zone, and therefore are doomed to be relegated.  That leaves two spots left in the relegation zone, with 5 teams all within 1 point of each other.  Wigan, Blackpool, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton, and Blackburn.  Going into the weekend, Wigan, Birmingham City, and Blackpool are with 39 points each.  The other two have 40 points a piece.  Now let's look at each of these teams situations individually shall we.

Blackpool:


Ian Holloway; manager of spirited Blackpool

Blackpool were written off as a certainty in relegation this year.  No one expected anything at all from this team.  They aren't big, they aren't popular, and for Pete's sake, they wash their own training jerseys.  Their stadium seats a measly 16,200 fans.  This is the first season in which they have participated in the Premier League.  However, this weekend, they will fight to make Blackpool history, and prove to the world that they are ready for top-class football.  Ian Holloway came to the club at the beginning of last season, and has turned this club around since then.  He made a record signing for Charlie Adam, their star midfielder, and got them to 6th place in the Championship, their highest ever.  They won in a playoff, and were promoted to the Premier League.  This season, they have made great strides, and it is shown by how addicted their fans are to this club.  This season, they achieved victory against Liverpool (both times they played them), Tottenham Hotspur, and Bolton Wanderers.  Of course, they won more games than that, these are just important ones.  For their last game of the season, they couldn't have been unluckier.  They are playing the champions, Manchester United at Old Trafford.  But, everyone in the Blackpool community, and all of the club believe that they can pull out a necessary victory in their time of need.

Wigan Athletic:
After appointing Roberto Martinez as manager a few years ago, things were supposed to look bright for Wigan.  This season has definitely not been in their favor.  First game of the season: Wigan lose to Blackpool 4 - 0.  Next weekend, they lose to Chelsea 6-0.  Starting out with a -10 goal difference isn't ideal.  By February, Wigan were in last place in the Premier League.  However, these last 8 weeks have shown promise.  They've only lost 2 of their last 8 games, and have taken 12 points out of a possible 24.  That may not seem like alot, but when your near the bottom of the table, every point counts.  Confidence was reassured last weekend when Wigan defeated West Ham United 3-2 off of a Charles N'Zogbia goal in extra time.  That result assured West Ham of relegation, and boosted Wigan closer to fresh air out of the relegation zone.  The problem for Wigan this season has been a lack of goals.  Their Premier League leader is Charles N'Zogbia, with only 9 goals.  N'Zogbia has 10 goals in all competitions.  This weekend, they are playing Stoke City away from home.  When they played them earlier this season, Wigan drew with Stoke 2-2.  This time, Wigan will need a victory if they are going to avoid relegation.

Birmingham City:
Ever since week one, Birmingham has been fighting relegation.  Three years ago, they were relegated from the Premier League.  They certainly don't want to be repeating that, so they will do whatever it takes.  Birmingham City has shown promise in the past two years.  Immediately after being relegated from the Premier League, they won promotion from the Championship back into the EPL.  Last season, they finished 9th on the table, their best finish in 51 years.  Also, this year, they defeated Arsenal 2-1 to win the League Cup during mid-season.  The team has a lot of talent, including players on loan.  Alexander Hleb of Barcelona, Obafemi Martins of Rubin Kazan, and David Bentley of Tottenham Hotspur.  One of their wingers, Sebastian Larsson, is a very crafty Swedish player.  The team is full of talent, but they will need to pull all of the talent together in their next game to make sure they stay out of relegation.  The last 6 weeks have left them with 1 draw and 5 losses.  Their last game will be away against Tottenham Hotspur.  Tottenham are fighting to hold 5th place in the league, so this will not be an easy fixture for Birmingham, especially away at White Hart Lane.

Wolverhampton Wanderers:
Two years ago, Wolves were promoted to the Premier League.  This is the first time they had done this since the 1988-89 season.  Last season, they finished fifteenth in the table, avoiding relegation.  This was the first time they had secured more than one consecutive season in the EPL since 1981.  Even though they made a record signing of striker Kevin Doyle, their strongest point was their defense.  This season has shown many more weak points.  Wolves were 15th in the league after 5 games, and two weeks later, would drop to 19th, where they would stay for much of the season.  The first 9 weeks only allowed for one victory, three draws, and five losses.  However, there have been some high points in the season for them.  They defeated Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool.  Also, the last two weeks have ended in a 3-1 victory.  This is a good sign going into the last week where they will be playing fellow "relegation fearer", Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn Rovers:



Nikola Kalinic; Blackburn's top scorer

 Blackburn have enjoyed Premier League football for about 10 years now.  This season marked their 70th total year in top-flight football.  However this year, hasn't been so happy.  Blackburn have only won one game since January.  You would think by getting previous striker Roque Santa Cruz on loan from Manchester City would help, but this hasn't shown to improve Blackburn's form.  Their top scorer, Nikola Kalinic has only scored 5 Premier League Goals.  With great players like Morten Gamst Pedersen and Brett Emerton, you would believe that Blackburn are capable of much more then they've been putting out lately.  Things look bright for Blackburn though, three key players, Chris Samba, Jermaine Jones, and Junior Holiett have all been cleared of injuries and are expected to appear against Wolverhampton Wanderers.  The winner of the game secures a non-relegation spot, and maybe even a draw would secure both of their places in the EPL next season.

With all the hectic nerves going into this weekend, one can only hope that this race to avoid relegation is one of great excitement, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the outcome.