da dobrowin： Most Premier League teams have three games left of their season. For some, the year is dead and buried, for others there is pride and prestige to play for. For others their status as a top flight club rests on these final games.
da aposte e ganhe： For QPR and Burnley, the situation is dire. Their fates can be sealed this weekend with defeats or even just if other results go against them. Others like Leicester and Hull have the chance to save themselves, something that didn’t seem likely for either club just a few short weeks ago.
But there is one club down at the bottom with more than three matches left – Sunderland have four games in which to save their skin. And yet they look very much like the third team to go down.
But it is probably harsh and definitely premature to say that Sunderland will go down. They do look in real trouble but on paper it’s not insurmountable: they are in the relegation zone, yes, but they are only a point from safety. They have a worse goal difference than the teams above them except Newcastle, but if they gain the points they need, that won’t matter.
So although their situation doesn’t look all that bad, it doesn’t look good either. A point behind with a game in hand? You’d probably take it.
And then you look at the four games they have to play.
They have only one home game – against an in-form Leicester side – and the rest are away from home against some tough opposition.
Sunderland did win last weekend, however. It was a crucial win against Southampton, but Leicester’s form makes them favourites for that game, and it’s a vital one for both teams.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
The Leicester game isn’t just important for Sunderland because it’s at home, though. The grounds they have to go to in the last few weeks of the campaign are very daunting indeed.
They travel to Goodison Park, The Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge. Taking even two or three points out of those three fixtures would surely have looked good to Sunderland at the start of the season, but that just won’t do any more. They’re going to need wins if they’re to stay up.
Leicester are in form and have winnable games, Hull play Burnley this weekend and will fancy their chances of three points, even Newcastle will surely – surely – get something from their final three games – West Brom, QPR and West Ham.
That leaves Sunderland in a perilous position. Go to those big grounds and win and they’ll stay up, get beat and they’ll go down. Their season is turning into all or nothing.
Yet there might be one thing on their side.
They might have the toughest fixtures and they might already be playing catch up – in games, goal difference and points – but they are playing three teams with next to nothing to play for.
Everton are looking to finish the season strongly – they’ve had a tough year and they’ll just be looking for pride now. That will make it tough for Everton, and Sunderland will seek to capitalise. The best the Toffees can hope for is a more respectable spot in the table, so Sunderland might have the motivation edge in this one.
Chelsea have won the league, and they might just play kids. You never know with Mourinho, but it’s a good chance for him to try out the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Dominic Solanke. In fact, i’d be disappointed if he doesn’t – Chelsea are home and dry, they have nothing left to play for and they have some good youngsters they can use these final games to blood into Premier League football. It’s a no brainer.
And Arsenal are in a similar position themselves. They might be slightly fearful of Manchester United coming up behind them and beating them for third. If Arsenal come fourth they’d have to qualify for the Champions League instead of getting in automatically, but they should still have enough in their squad to fend off the challenge should there be one. Wenger, just like Mourinho, has lots of young talent he can give game time to.
Sunderland might have the toughest fixtures of the sides in the relegation battle, but the fact that this is the end of the season and the title and most of the European places are pretty much sewn up makes them more winnable for Sunderland.
If they are to stay up, they’ll have to win some important games over the course of the next few weeks. It would be a great escape from here, but they might just have the perfect scenario in which to do it.
[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]