With the season now heading into the final straight, the month of April is set to offer up a number of vital matches at the bottom of the table.
The final international break is also set to arrive after this weekend’s depleted set of matches, meaning the month of April will be busy for a number of sides as they look to play their games in hand.
Following a much-needed win over Norwich City on Sunday, Leeds United will be looking to use their next few matches as a chance to fully ease their relegation worries.
So ahead of a vital few weeks in the calendar, here is a look at each of the bottom six’s next five matches.
15th: Brentford – 30 points
Brentford have taken two giant steps towards survival in recent weeks with consecutive wins over Norwich City and Burnley. The Bees are now eight points clear of the bottom three and the run of victories comes at a crucial time with some tough matches to come.
Trips to Leicester City and Chelsea are followed by a home clash with West Ham, before a potentially huge trip to Watford. Their run of five matches is then concluded with another tough test against Tottenham.
March 19: Leicester (a)
April 2: Chelsea (a)
April 9: West Ham (h)
April 16: Watford (a)
April 23: Tottenham (h)
16th: Leeds United – 26 points
Leeds stopped the rot of six consecutive defeats on Sunday as they picked up a dramatic 2-1 win over Norwich. The Whites are now four points clear of the relegation zone and will be looking to increase that buffer in the coming weeks with fixtures against Wolves, Southampton and Watford.
Jesse Marsch’s side then host Chelsea at Elland Road, before heading to London to face Crystal Palace, who could have very little to play for come the end of April.
March 18: Wolves (a)
April 2: Southampton (h)
April 9: Watford (a)
April 16: Chelsea (h)
April 23: Crystal Palace (a)
17th: Everton – 22 points
March 17: Newcastle (h)
April 3: West Ham (a)
April 9: Manchester United (h)
April 23: Liverpool (a)
April 30: Chelsea (h)
After another terrible result at the weekend at home to Wolves, their clash with Newcastle at Goodison Park on Thursday is a must win. That is because they then face four consecutive matches against sides vying for places in Europe.
The Toffees face away matches at both West Ham and Liverpool, as well as home encounters with Manchester United and Chelsea – a very tough run.
18th: Watford – 22 points
Watford kept themselves in the battle to beat the drop with an impressive 2-1 win away at Southampton on Sunday. The Hornets bounced back from their dismal 4-0 defeat at Wolves in midweek with a much needed three points ahead of a trip to Anfield next.
They also face an away match against Man City in their next five, but home matches with Leeds, Brentford and Burnley will be what decides their fate.
April 2: Liverpool (a)
April 9: Leeds (h)
April 16: Brentford (h)
April 23: Man City (a)
April 30: Burnley (h)
19th: Burnley – 21 points
Burnley suffered a very disappointing third defeat in a row at the weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Brentford. Their poor run of form comes at the worst possible time as their next match couldn’t be any harder as they host Man City.
Sean Dyche’s side, though, face both Watford and Norwich in the month of April which could go a long way to deciding their fate.
April 2: Manchester City (h)
April 10: Norwich (a)
April 16: West Ham (a)
April 23: Wolves (h)
April 30: Watford (a)
20th: Norwich City – 17 points
It is bordering on mission impossible now for Norwich City to claw themselves out of danger after their last gasp defeat to Leeds on Sunday. While on five points adrift of safety, they have played three more games than 17 th place Everton and have lost their last six.
The Canaries, though, do have some winnable games in April as they face Brighton, Burnley and Newcastle – however they will probably need to win them all to have any chance of staying up.
April 2: Brighton (a)
April 10: Burnley (h)
April 16: Manchester United (a)
April 23: Newcastle (h)
April 30: Aston Villa (a)
