Things are looking better for Newcastle United, but they are definitely not out of the relegation battle yet.
Newcastle United enjoyed a two-match winning streak to give themselves some room on the table, but they are still not entirely clear of the relegation battle. As we have in recent months (January and February), here is everything you need to know about the current state of the bottom of the table.
The Current Bottom Three
20. Huddersfield (14 points)
L vs. NUFC on 12/15, L vs. NUFC on 2/23
No real surprise here. The Terriers have ten goals less than the second-lowest scoring side (Cardiff with 25). They’ve had a stranglehold on this spot for most of the season.
19. Fulham (17 points)
In an impressive feat, Fulham sacked their second manager of the season last month as Claudio Ranieri was shown the door. Unlike Huddersfield, their main issue is at the defensive end, not that their attack is great either. They’ve allowed nearly ten goals more than the second-worst in the league.
18. Cardiff City (25 points)
D vs. NUFC on 8/18, L vs. NUFC on 1/19
Always a likely relegation candidate, the Bluebirds have lost their last three matches, all by multiple goals. That run includes a 5-1 destruction by Watford. To make matters worse, they lost their captain, Sol Bamba, for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
Last year’s bottom three on this date
18. Crystal Palace: Survived
19. Stoke City: Relegated
20. West Bromwich Albion: Relegated
The Other Contenders
17. Southampton (27 points)
They had two tough losses in recent memory. One was a home loss to Cardiff at the beginning of last month and the other was a back-and-forth match vs. Manchester United last week that ended 3-2.
16. Burnley (30 points)
L vs. NUFC on 11/27, L vs. NUFC on 2/26
Burnley had an eight-match unbeaten run in the Premier League going until they were handled by Newcastle United last week.
15. Brighton and Hove Albion (30 points)
Prior to a win over Huddersfield last week, the Seagulls had not won in seven straight Premier League matches. Things went from well clear of this year’s relegation battle to teetering on the edge.
14. NEWCASTLE UNITED (31 points)
The Magpies have given themselves some separation, but it has not been enough to completely remove them from the relegation battle. They’ve done well to take a lot of points from their relegation rivals as you can see from the results included under the other clubs.
13. Crystal Palace (33 points)
Three wins in February have Palace just about excused from these articles in the future. They have the most goals of any club in this group and it would take an epic collapse to get sent down this season.
This Month’s Head-to-Head Matchups
Date to be confirmed
Brighton vs. Cardiff City
March 9th
Crystal Palace vs. Brighton
March 30th
Brighton vs. Southampton
Crystal Palace vs. Huddersfield Town