The Premier League relegation race is a frantic contest to see who can blink first
The race to escape relegation from the Premier League is frantic this time around. It is also uncommon in that any of the participants could pull away at any time.
Some clubs near the bottom of the table seemingly appear to almost desire getting relegated. Everton were dreadful in their 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, while Norwich's fightback against Chelsea lasted exactly three minutes. By the halfway mark of the first half in their match, Watford had fallen three goals behind Wolves.
Then there was Leeds, whose new manager bounce seemed to consist of nothing more than not looking entirely awful against Leicester before being thrashed by Aston Villa.
Premier League relegation race
Three clubs must drop out by the end of the season, and the distance between them and the rest makes it difficult to envisage anyone other than Norwich City and Watford filling the bottom two spots.
Because of the unique look of the Premier League table at the bottom, either team may go on a sudden lunge of two or three straight wins to lift themselves out of the relegation places rapidly. But if three have to go, it's hard to imagine these two not being among them.
Burnley's woes and Norwich's hope
Burnley, who are quickly becoming the Jekyll and Hyde of the bottom half, currently occupy the third relegation spot.
Their last two games - at home against Leicester City and Chelsea - were not very encouraging. But they came after good wins - away at Brighton and at home against Tottenham Hotspur - as well as a stalemate at Crystal Palace.
Sean Dyche has already demonstrated that they are capable of snatching points from nowhere, despite the fact that they have only won three league games this season.
After a superb win at Norwich, Brentford are on the outside of the relegation battle. Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick in that game, and his return, combined with Christian Eriksen's influence, could provide them with the extra quality they require to pull away entirely.
They are already averaging more than the anticipated total required to avoid relegation in the Premier League, with 27 points from 28 games.
A run like the one that ended with the win against Norwich may see them tumble back to the bottom of the Premier League, but it now appears that they will do just enough to stay clear.
Everton and Leeds United
On multiple levels, Goodison Park is a nerve-wracking site. Alisher Usmanov was never a shareholder at Everton, and the club was fast to cut connections with him.
Farhad Moshiri's interest in the club has always been in his name. Moshiri was rumored to be worth £2 billion, but if he had major commercial interests in Russia, it's absolutely likely that he already has only a fraction of his former riches. Sanctions will have an impact on everyone, not just oligarchs.
Moshiri is unlikely to face punishment, but all of this is taking place in the midst of what is rapidly looking like a relegation battle that will stretch until the end of the season.
Leeds have conceded 3+ goals in three of their last four Premier League games.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs Liverpool
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs Tottenham
⚽️ vs Leicester
⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs Aston Villa.
And there's still 15 minutes left. 😫 https://t.co/vvgZuxUQ9P
Leeds United, on the other hand, are just as terrible, as proven by their dismal performance against Aston Villa at home.
The audience at Elland Road was supportive, but there has been plenty of discussion among Leeds fans about the consequences of the decision to fire Marcelo Bielsa.
It's easy to understand how enraged fans could now turn on new manager Jesse Marsch if he doesn't start producing decent results soon.
Leeds also has the disadvantage of having played three games more than Everton and two more than Burnley.
They've played the same number of games as Brentford but are four points behind them in the table. Leeds would be in the relegation zone if Everton and Burnley both won their remaining games.
Newcastle have picked up the same number of Premier League points in 2022 (20) as Norwich (7), Leeds (7) and Watford (6) combined.
Eddie Howe's army are moving up the table. 🔥
Everyone knows how bad their injury problem has been, and Patrick Bamford made his comeback against Aston Villa after a long layoff.
There's a case to be made that Leeds can only become better as more and more players return, but all of Bielsa's flaws were exposed against Villa, and Leeds haven't won in the Premier League in almost two months. That is relegation form.
Everton and Leeds appear to have very little in common. They've both been seen defending with a dangerously high line, allowing opponents to exploit wide swaths of territory on the break.
Even though Spurs didn't play especially well against Everton, they still won 5-0. While Everton do have three Premier League games in hand over Leeds, they have not been able to make use of that lead thus far this season.
They also have a very difficult run-in with West Ham, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal in their last eight Premier League games. At the moment, the FA Cup is the only thing that can save them from a dreadful season.
The truth is that the race to avoid relegation is still extremely tight because so many teams – at least a fourth of the Premier League – have had such dismal seasons.
Even Norwich and Watford, who have already had their obituaries written and their coffins measured, may rise from the dead, zombie-like, and drag themselves back across the dotted line.
Three clubs must be dropped. We already know that several others will be heaving a sigh of relief because they'll realize how easily it could have been them.