This weekend could spell the end of Southampton’s 11-year stay in the English Premier League.
The Saints are at the bottom of the table with 24 points from 35 matches, and nothing other than a victory will all but see them lose their top-flight status this weekend.
Even if Southampton beats Fulham tomorrow (10pm), the chances of it staying up are as slim as Malaysian politicians not talking about a power grab.
With only three matches remaining, Southampton can only get 33 points, which would not be enough to stay up.
Favourites to join the south coast club in the Championship next season are Leicester and Leeds, which each has 30 points.
Everton (32 points) could also face the drop, while Nottingham Forest (33) is also not out of the woods.
A resurgent West Ham has found its form at the right time and looks set to stay up for another season after collecting 37 points.
Last week, West Ham dented Manchester United’s Champions League hopes with a 1-0 victory.
The Red Devils, however, are still in the driver’s seat as it sits fourth on 63 points, one ahead of Liverpool, but with a game in hand.
Newcastle and United are in the last two Champions League spots as leader Manchester City and second-placed Arsenal have already booked their slots after collecting 82 and 81 points, respectively.
City is also in the semifinals of this year’s Champions League and drew 1-1 away to defending champion Real Madrid on Wednesday morning. The return league is on Thursday morning (3am).
Liverpool has an outside chance of gate-crashing the top four positions but would need Newcastle or United to drop points. After two consecutive defeats, United hopes to get back on track with a home tie against Wolves tomorrow (10pm).
Newcastle, which fell 2-0 to Arsenal last weekend, takes on a free-falling Leeds in tomorrow’s early kick-off (7.30pm). Liverpool travels to Leicester on Tuesday (3am), confident of building on its six-game winning streak.
Elsewhere, Brighton’s shock 5-1 thrashing by Everton hurt its chances of making it to the Champions League, but it is still on course to qualify for Europe for the first time.
A week earlier, it stunned United 1-0, so it has the potential to end the season on a high.
The Seagulls have only played 33 matches and have collected 55 points, but face daunting trips to Arsenal on Sunday (11.30pm), Newcastle, and Manchester City, besides also playing Southampton and Aston Villa.
SATURDAY
Leeds vs Newcastle (7.30pm)
Southampton vs Fulham (10pm)
Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest (10pm)
Aston Villa vs Tottenham (10pm)
Manchester United vs Wolves (10pm)
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth (10pm)
SUNDAY
Everton vs Manchester City (9pm)
Brentford vs West Ham (9pm)
Arsenal vs Brighton (11.30pm)
TUESDAY
Leicester vs Liverpool (3am)
