Wednesday 20 April 2016 10:59, UK
Newcastle boosted their chances in the battle of survival a after picking up a crucial point against Champions League chasing Manchester City on Tuesday - but will it be enough to help them beat the drop?
While Aston Villa can start to prepare for life in the second tier following their relegation on Saturday, Newcastle, Sunderland and Norwich are locked in a three-way battle for survival.
Only one of Newcastle, Sunderland and Norwich will be a Premier League club next season. We take a look at each side's form and run-ins to assess which one of them will maintain their top-flight status...
Remaining fixtures
Sunderland only trail Norwich by one point and have a game in hand, after their vital 3-0 win at Carrow Road on Saturday. However, their run-in could be the hardest of the lot.
The Black Cats face Arsenal (h), Stoke (a), Chelsea (h), Everton (h) and Watford (a), in a tough final five fixtures. Norwich have to play Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton and Watford, in a tricky four-game finish to their campaign.
Second-bottom Newcastle, meanwhile, are just two points adrift of safety after picking up a point from their game in hand against City. They face a tough test next up, though, with a trip to in-form Liverpool.
Newcastle clawed their way to safety last season with a final day victory over West Ham but this time around they host high-flying Tottenham on the final day. That means they'll need maximum points from games with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa after their Anfield date.
Form
Sunderland scored a vital win at Norwich on Saturday to boost their chances of staying in the Premier League. Like their hosts at Carrow Road, they've taken seven points from their previous six games.
After seven games without a win, Newcastle picked up a much-needed 3-0 triumph over Swansea last weekend. They followed it up with a hard fought draw against Manchester City on Tuesday - and they'll need to take that momentum into the clash against Liverpool on Saturday.
Injuries
Newcastle currently have the joint-most number of injuries in the Premier League, along with Everton. Rafa Benitez is without seven first-team players: Steven Taylor, Daryl Janmaat, Rob Elliott, Fabricio Coloccini, Kevin Mbabu, Massadio Haidara and long-term absentee Tim Krul.
Norwich City could be without Andre Wisdom, following a knee injury, while Timm Klose and Alex Tettey are also in the treatment room, according to physioroom.com.
Sunderland, though, have a clean bill of health and are at full strength for the all-important run-in.
What they say
After seeing his side pick up what could be a crucial point against City, Benitez said his side now had the necessary belief needed to escape relegation from the Premier League.
"The team was working hard but now we have more belief," Benitez said. "With the fans behind them, they will give everything and fight until the end. Today was an example of that.
"The players are doing what they have to do: they are giving everything. They are playing with passion, with commitment. That is the main thing to see to team reacting and see the team believing."
Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce talked up his side's own chances of survival following the 3-0 win against relegation rivals Norwich.
"We handled the pressure better than them," Allardyce said. "It was scrappy at times, but sometimes you have to dig it out: the back four, the goalkeeper, the finishing and the counter-attacking style we used today to great effect.
"Standing up to the long balls into the box. We used the ball extremely well, so the counter-attacking football paid off in the end and it's a massive result for us."
Alex Neil wasn't quite as upbeat as Allardyce but wants Norwich to win two of their remaining four matches to give them a chance of survival.
"I think the one thing we have to bear in mind is those two teams are still chasing us," Neil said. "We are still a point ahead of Sunderland and they have got to win them to make it count. That is not a given but we have to win games between now and the end of the season. If we don't, it won't be enough.
"We have four left, we have to win two of those, at least, to give ourselves a chance. I think momentum is a bit over-stated to be honest because there was plenty saying we had it going into this game. You have to take each game in isolation and win as many as you can. Simple as that."
Conclusions
Newcastle could capitalise on fixtures against already-relegated Aston Villa and struggling Crystal Palace, while Sunderland and Norwich appear to face extremely tough run-ins.
At this stage of the season, though, points on the board are vital and Norwich, despite a damaging defeat at home to Sunderland on Saturday, are still in prime position to stay in the Premier League, despite having played a game more than their two rivals.
As for Sunderland, Sam Allardyce will hope his team can kick on from their 3-0 victory over Norwich.
It's all set up for a nail-biting finish...
Who do you think has the toughest run-in? Let us know using the message boards or by tweeting @SkyFootball
