The bottom six in the Sky Bet Championship all have 12 games of the season remaining to saves themselves from relegation. We’re all familiar with the race for the Premier League, but what about the desperate scrap to avoid slipping into Sky Bet League One.
Clubs such as Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers may not feel completely safe either, but for now we’ve dwindled down the most likely relegation candidates to be the current bottom six clubs. We assess their chances of avoiding the dreaded drop.
The Addicks currently have the most to do at this moment in time as they are currently bottom of the league. However only goal difference is keeping them there below Bolton. Nevertheless, there is still a sizeable gap to safety. In the first three games of Jose Riga’s return, they were unbeaten in three of those, leading to many believing that the Belgian could once again guide the club away from the drop zone. However since defeating Rotherham 4-1, they are winless in five, losing four of those. The fact of the matter is that they do not look like keeping a clean sheet. They have reverted to playing three centre backs in recent weeks, but still shipped four against Reading. Yayo Sanogo got amongst the goals, but he’ll need a few more hat-tricks to propel Charlton out of the bottom three. Looking at their fixture list, there are a few games which simply are must-win. Next Tuesday’s home clash with MK Dons being one of those. They still have the likes of Middlesbrough, Derby, Burnley and Brighton to play too, so Charlton are certainly up against it.
The takeover talk has been a major talking point around Bolton in recent times and understandably so. The fact they are struggling in the league however has made it turn into a distraction that they didn’t need. There are still some dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s which need to be done, but Sports Shield could soon takeover the club. That in turn may lead to the transfer embargo being lifted, meaning Neil Lennon can bolster his squad with some loan signings. If they have a chance of avoiding the drop, that surely will be the aim, but it needs to be sorted fast. Similar to Charlton, Bolton have big issues in the defensive third. That too isn’t a surprise, considering their league position. However they are starting to score goals, which was a major issue earlier in the season. Since December 12th 2015, Bolton have only failed to score in three matches. However the last time they kept a clean sheet was in late December too. On paper at least, Bolton have a decent chance of pulling back some points in their remaining fixtures. They still need to face Bristol City and Charlton, but they also face the likes of Hull, Middlesbrough and Derby too. It will be tough, but there is hope.
It was a big shock to see Neil Redfearn lose his job, but that is all in the past now and they clearly gambled to try and preserve their status by hiring Neil Warnock. The veteran was handed the roles with the task of saving the club from the drop; something of a fire-fighting mission. They picked up their first victory under the form Sheffield United boss last weekend with a much-needed home win over Brentford. You know exactly what your going to get from a Neil Warnock team. If ever they lack for quality, they’ll better than in the form of sheer work-rate. Beating the Bees meant that they are now three points away from MK Dons and the promised land of safety. Warnock is moulding the squad into one of his own, adding some of his own players whilst freezing out those they he doesn’t need. They too have to face teams such as Hull, Middlesbrough and Derby, but they also face many teams in the middle of the table. Wolves, Huddersfield, Leeds and Blackburn are chances to pick up points, as are clashes with rivals Bristol City and MK Dons. They will give their all for the cause, and it will be tight.
They won promotion into the Championship thanks to gaining an automatic promotion spot in League One last season, so it perhaps isn’t the greatest shock to see them struggling this season. They have proved in flashes of what they are capable of on their day, but teams that lack consistency tend to slip down the table. Karl Robinson will now be focusing on a ‘mini-season’ of 12 matches to keep the Dons in the league. It is a big challenge but it would be an incredible achievement if they survived. Scoring goals has been the issue for MK Dons, which certainly wasn’t the case in League One last season. They lost some key players over the summer but they have got by just about. They have a ‘good’ run of fixtures to end the season compared to some of their relegation rivals. They face the likes of Wolves, Rotherham, Brentford and Nottingham Forest at home, in addition to QPR this weekend. Their home form will be key, as they’ve only won twice on the road this season. Many will feel they will go down, but do not write the Dons off just yet.
Fulham
‘Too good to go down’ is a phrase which has come back to haunt some of the biggest clubs in the English game. The fact that the Championship is littered with ex-Premier League clubs is proof of that. It wasn’t that long ago that Fulham reached the Europa League final and were regulars to finish mid-table in the top flight too, but that is all in the past. Consistency has been their biggest problem this season, only winning back-to-back games on one occasion this season, that coming all the way back in October. They are still one of the highest scorers in the league, which is an incredible fact! Only top of the table Burnley have scored more goals than the Whites. Conceding 56 is their problem, which is only worsened by Rotherham and Charlton, who are both in the bottom three. Slavisa Jokanovic is trying to settle things down, but finding a consistency formation is another issue for them. Four at the back or five at the back seems to be a big question mark for the Serbian. On their day they can beat anyone in this league, any Fulham fan can say this, but they need a few more of ‘those days’ to ensure survival. Other than Brighton and Burnley, their fixtures are realistic enough to believe they can really win those matches. Should stay up, but need to prove their quality with results.
The final team we are going to focus on is Bristol City, who may perhaps feel they are close to securing their status in the Championship. If they maintain their recent form, they will survive; no trouble. They have won four of their last five, which is promotion form. If they keep that up for the rest of the season, then next season could be very, very interesting for the Robins. Still, whilst they are eight points clear of the drop zone, they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas. Teams below need wins and they will pick up points in the remaining fixtures. However that won’t be a concern if Bristol City keep on winning. Lee Johnson has gone back to basics, reverting them back to a 4-4-2 after the frequent Steve Cotterill 5-3-2 system the past few seasons. They probably wouldn’t swap their remaining fixture list for anyone else in the relegation scrap too. Every game is tough at this level of course but other than Hull, Derby and Sheff Wed, they play many teams in the bottom half of the table, or certainly the lower echelons of the top half. Are hitting form at the right time of the season, and will be confident over avoiding the drop.
Other
Leeds United are hitting a bad patch of form at the wrong time of the season. Many will suggest that if Bristol City are still involved in the relegation fight then Leeds, who are only a point above, must surely be involved too. They will still feel they will be OK, but a few more wins will make them feel a lot better about their situation. The same applies to Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers, who have enjoyed some positive results in recent times.
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