5 European clubs nobody wants to see relegated at the end of the 2014/15 season
Domestic action across Europe's elite leagues is rapidly approaching its climax and whilst several title winners could have been predicted many weeks ago, the battles for survival have served up some truly fascinating stories. For some, heartache awaits as the bottom three teams drop down to the lower division in the football tiers.Naturally, though, that does mean that several teams will enjoy the sheer elation of retaining their top-flight status. Whilst most neutrals will be more than happy to watch the drama unfold from afar, it's difficult not to form soft spots for certain teams battling against relegation.Here are five teams that most football fans would love to see beat the drop.
#5 Leicester City - EPL
Ordinarily, most football supporters are emotionally detached from Leicester City. However, recent heroics have seen the Foxes recruit temporary fans aplenty as they bid to avoid relegation back to the Championship.
Just as Nigel Pearson's men appeared dead and buried, the Foxes produced a phenomenal run of four straight league victories to climb off the bottom and out of the dreaded bottom three. With just a handful of games remaining, Leicester's great escape looks to be well and truly on.
The Foxes are blessed with a number of endearing players such as David Nugent, Leonardo Ulloa and the evergreen Esteban Cambiasso. Meanwhile, nobody likes to see all three promoted teams drop straight back down and Leicester are now the best hope of preventing that unwanted outcome.
Leicester defied the odds to start this season on fire, despite facing several big teams in the opening weeks. That spirit, which was arguably best demonstrated with an incredible 5-3 win over Manchester United, has made the Foxes easy for neutrals to love.
For sheer entertainment, as well as their unrelenting positive attitude, everyone would love to see the Foxes retain their Premier League status for 2015/16.
| # | CLUB | PLD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | West Brom | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 37 |
| 14 | Newcastle | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 36 | 57 | -21 | 35 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 48 | -22 | 32 |
| 16 | Hull City | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 31 | 45 | -14 | 31 |
| 17 | Leicester City | 33 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 35 | 51 | -16 | 31 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 33 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 26 | 49 | -23 | 30 |
| 19 | QPR | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 59 | -21 | 27 |
| 20 | Burnley | 34 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 26 | 52 | -26 | 26 |