How many points do Norwich City need to stay up?
“Norwich City FC” (CC BY 2.0) by pittaya
With just four games to go of this year’s topsy-turvy Premier League campaign, Norwich City are in a three-way battle with Sunderland and Newcastle United for Premier League survival. As clichéd as the ‘every game is a cup final’ adage is, the sentiment certainly rings true as Alex Neil’s men now occupy one of the league’s three relegation places. Just one point separates all three clubs at the time of writing and 19th-placed Newcastle have the most to do having played a game more.
Here, we analyse the remaining games of Norwich’s relegation rivals and assess how many points the Canaries will need to achieve survival this season.
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Sunderland
By hook or by crook, Sam Allardyce has kept his Sunderland side firmly in the race to avoid the relegation trap door. In fact, Sunderland at the time of writing are one place above the bottom three after their draw with Arsenal and are priced at 1/1 in the football betting odds to stay up. This essentially means their chances of competing in the English top flight for at least another season are similar to that of a coin flip and, with winnable games against Stoke City, Everton and Watford coming up, Big Sam will be hoping his side pull out all the stops.
Final four games:
Stoke (away)
Chelsea (home)
Everton (home)
Watford (away)
Points prediction: 6
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Newcastle United
Both Sunderland and Norwich can count their blessings that Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez wasn’t employed by the club just a few weeks earlier. With the North East side finally finding some good form following a victory against Swansea and draws against Liverpool and Manchester City, many Magpies fans are of the opinion that their side would already be safe if he’d replaced Steven McClaren as boss much sooner. The club’s next two fixtures will of course be pivotal – judging by the tumultuous season Villa are experiencing, three points at Villa Park shouldn’t be too much of an issue. However, FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace will certainly present themselves as a tougher test.
Whilst expectations of picking up a result on their final match-up against Spurs were low, with the Lilywhites seemingly handing this year’s Premier League crown to Leicester City with their draw with West Brom, Newcastle may be able to capitalise by facing a Tottenham side who will have nothing to play for on the season’s final day.
Final three games:
Crystal Palace (home)
Aston Villa (away)
Tottenham Hotspur (home)
Points Prediction: 7
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What do Norwich need to do?
Such is their inferior goal difference to Sunderland, seven points will be needed for Norwich to remain in the Premier League for another season. With the worst end of season run-in of the three relegation-threatened sides, Alex Neil’s side will need to defy the odds and pull off a shock result or two should they wish to avoid the same fate as already relegated Villa. Nothing less than wins against Watford and Everton and a draw against either Manchester United or Arsenal will be sufficient.
Final four games:
Arsenal (away)
Manchester United (home)
Watford (home)
Everton (away)
