Premier League relegation fight hots up but who will beat the drop?

While the Premier League title race might be as good as over, the battle against the drop looks like going to the wire and, unfortunately, both of our region’s sides remain embroiled in it.

Newcastle boast a six-point gap to safety, while Sunderland are four points clear of the drop zone ahead of this weekend’s action. So with eight games left, it’s time to get the crystal ball out to see what might unfold.

• Tomorrow Man City (a)
• Apr 7 Fulham (h)
• Apr 14 Sunderland (h)
• Apr 20 West Brom (a)
• Apr 27 Liverpool (h)
• May 4 West Ham (a)
• May 12 QPR (a)
• May 19 Arsenal (h)

Wins over Southampton and Stoke looked to have dragged Newcastle to safety, but this month’s dramatic defeat at Wigan has set nerves jangling once more.

The Magpies should still be fine, although the considerable distraction of a Europa League quarter-final with Benfica will inevitably divert attention away from the league campaign in the next three weeks.

Win next month’s back-to-back home games with Fulham and Sunderland, and Newcastle will be as good as safe. Slip up there though, and the rest of the fixture list could be tricky.

Prediction: Safe, with a degree of comfort

• Tomorrow West Brom (h)
• Apr 7 Liverpool (a)
• Apr 13 Southampton (a)
• Apr 17 Man United (h)
• Apr 20 Wigan (h)
• Apr 27 Man City (a)
• May 4 Newcastle (h)
• May 12 Everton (a)
• May 19 Reading (h)

Having targeted a top-ten finish for the majority of the campaign, West Ham’s miserable recent form means they suddenly find themselves in the relegation mix.

Sam Allardyce’s side have won just three of their last 14 league matches, and a number of their key players have lost their form at a critical juncture.

Andy Carroll’s loan move has not been a success, while Kevin Nolan has scored just once since mid-November. The Hammers have enough points in the bag to be reasonably confident of survival, but they are limping across the line.

Prediction: Safe, but likely to finish lower than they are at the moment

• Tomorrow Man United (h)
• Apr 7 Chelsea (a)
• Apr 14 Newcastle (a)
• Apr 20 Everton (h)
• Apr 29 Aston Villa (a)
• May 4 Stoke (h)
• May 12 Southampton (h)
• May 19 Tottenham (a)

As if the mood on Wearside wasn’t gloomy enough, Wednesday’s confirmation that Steven Fletcher and Lee Cattermole will play no part in the rest of the season has really set the alarm bells ringing.

Without Fletcher’s goals, it is hard to see how Sunderland are going to claim too many victories, and their next four games could hardly be any tougher, with the Tyne-Wear derby sandwiching matches with Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton.

The three games after that, against Aston Villa, Stoke and Southampton, are likely to determine the Black Cats’ fate, but the fear is that they might have to take at least seven points to stay up.

Prediction: Safe, but their fate will remain in the balance until the final afternoon

• Tomorrow Chelsea (h)
• Apr 6 Reading (a)
• Apr 13 West Ham (h)
• Apr 20 Swansea (a)
• Apr 27 West Brom (h)
• May 4 Tottenham (a)
• May 12 Sunderland (a)
• May 19 Stoke (h)

When Southampton controversially sacked Nigel Adkins in mid-January, it looked as though their season was about to implode.

Adkins’ replacement, Mauricio Pochettino, can hardly claim to have been an unqualified success, but the Saints have steadied the ship impressively and claimed crucial home wins over Manchester City and Liverpool.

They are not safe yet - far from it - but they score plenty of goals and look capable of claiming enough points at St Mary’s to see them safe.

Prediction: Safe, although they will have to see off Stoke on the final afternoon to survive

• Sunday Liverpool (h)
• Apr 6 Stoke (a)
• Apr 13 Fulham (h)
• Apr 22 Man United (a)
• Apr 27 Sunderland (h)
• May 4 Norwich (a)
• May 12 Chelsea (h)
• May 19 Wigan (a)

Paul Lambert’s side looked doomed less than two months ago, but three wins from their last five matches, against West Ham, Reading and QPR, have given them every chance of engineering a dramatic escape.

Villa’s brittle defence and lack of experience means it is hard to know exactly how they will cope when the pressure really starts to ratchet up in the final few games.

But provided Christian Benteke remains fit, matches against Stoke, Fulham, Sunderland and Norwich give Villa a decent chance of setting up a potential final-day showdown at Wigan.

Prediction: Safe in the most dramatic way possible on the final day at the DW Stadium

• Tomorrow Norwich (h)
• Apr 7 QPR (a)
• Apr 17 Man City (a)
• Apr 20 West Ham (a)
• Apr 27 Tottenham (h)
• May 4 West Brom (a)
• May 7 Swansea (h)
• May 12 Arsenal (a)
• May 19 Aston Villa (h)

Past masters of the great escape, Wigan appear to be readying themselves for yet another survival act in the final weeks of the campaign.

This month’s controversial win over Newcastle took Roberto Martinez’s side to within three points of safety, and the Latics’ next two matches, against Norwich and QPR, offer an ideal opportunity to clamber out of the bottom three.

Beyond that, though, things look tricky, and while West Brom and Swansea could have little to play for come May, the final-day visit of Aston Villa looks like proving crucial. Surely Wigan’s luck has to run out at some stage?

Prediction: Relegated, largely because they fail to beat Aston Villa on a heart-stopping final day

• Tomorrow Arsenal (a)
• Apr 6 Southampton (h)
• Apr 13 Liverpool (h)
• Apr 20 Norwich (a)
• Apr 28 QPR (h)
• May 4 Fulham (a)
• May 12 Man City (h)
• May 19 West Ham (a)

This month’s dismissal of Brian McDermott was a final roll of the dice from Reading’s rulers, but while Nigel Adkins is a sensible choice of successor, the switch is surely too little, too late for the Royals.

Seven points is a huge deficit to make up with just eight games left, and Reading have done nothing to suggest they are suddenly capable of stringing three or four wins together.

They will surely get nothing at the Emirates tomorrow, and their fate is likely to be sealed long before they return to London to face West Ham on the final day.

Prediction: Relegated, and cut adrift at the bottom of the table

• Monday Fulham (a)
• Apr 7 Wigan (h)
• Apr 13 Everton (a)
• Apr 20 Stoke (h)
• Apr 28 Reading (a)
• May 4 Arsenal (h)
• May 12 Newcastle (h)
• May 19 Liverpool (a)

Harry Redknapp’s ‘Houdini’ act has worked in the past, but his magic has not been sufficient to arrest QPR’s slide and the Championship beckons for a side who have spent money like it has been going out of fashion this season.

Even if QPR win their next two matches, which is not out of the question given they face Fulham and Wigan, they will still face an almighty uphill battle in their final six games.

They are not defensively secure enough to edge tight matches, and their recent resurgence has come too late in the day to save them.

Prediction: Relegated, although they will claim enough points to finish above Reading