The fight for survial - Part 2

Time to take a look at the rest of the sides involved in the fight for survival.

Bolton

Like West Ham, Bolton are a side who's early season form has seen them end up right in the mixer.
Under Gary Megson, Bolton had become stagnant. The fans were losing patience with the performances, and Megson in particular.
The players seemed uninterested, and all signs pointed to a side on their way out of the Premiership after 8 consecutive seasons in the top flight.
However the sacking of Megson, and subsequent replacement with Owen Coyle have given a massive boost to the club's survival hopes.
Peformances have improved dramatically since his arrival, with Bolton looking a much more disciplined side, and like his time at Burnley has instilled belief in the players.
Bolton are a team full of battlers and experience and should be o.k.

Prediction - 15th

Wigan

Wigan have been a bit of a mixed bag so far. They had some impressive results against Villa and Chelsea in the first half of the season, mixed in with big losses against Manchester United, Arsenal and not forgetting being mauled 9-1 by Tottenham back in November.
Hugo Rodallega is a key player for The Latics, netting 7 of their 25 goals this season.
On form he is a match winner, and could well be the key to their survival.
They should pick up enough points between now and May to be safe.

Prediction - 14th

Burnley

Despite some good results at home this season Burnley have been dismal on their travels, picking up just a single point away from home.
Couple that with the loss of their hugely influential manager Owen Coyle to Bolton it's very difficult to see how they're going to pick up enough points to survive.

Prediction - 18th

Hull

Hull are the only side along with Burnley who are yet to pick up a win away from home.
Performances, along with the home form have been good as of late however, and they do have a few winnable home games to come in the run in.
Phil Brown's side have kept games tight when playing fellow strugglers in the league, and should just about survive the drop, provided they continue their decent home form.

Prediction - 17th

Sunderland

Sunderland are a side in freefall at the moment. Despite a very strong start to the campaign they have picked up just 6 points in their last 12 games.
Steve Bruce has had his injury problems though, and his side should start to pick up more points as one or two return.
Darren Bent has had a fantastic season for The Black cats, with 15 goals in the league so far. As long as he keeps his form up, they should be fairly comfortable.

Prediction - 12th

Stoke

Tony Pulis' side have been quite impressive this season. They have played some nice football, and have proved they're about more than Rory Delap's party piece from the throw-in line.
They are yet to be beaten in 2010, and 2 more wins will see them all but safe.

Prediction - 11th

Blackburn

Blackburn have looked a typical Sam Allardyce side this season. They're big, strong and very hard to break down.
Although their performances don't exactly get any pulses racing, they have ground out some fairly decent results the last few months and are slowly moving away from trouble.
Like Stoke they are in a fiarly decent position, and a few more wins should secure their place for next season.

Prediction - 13th

The fight for survival

With almost two thirds of the Premiership season beyond us now the fight for survival is well and truly under way, and in typical premiership fashion it couldn't be any tighter.
No side in the bottom half of the table look safe, as we reach the point in the season where nails begin to be bitten, lucky charms are dusted off and wives and girlfriends run for the hills on matchdays.
Let's take a look at the 10 teams in question, starting with the current bottom three.

Portsmouth

Even the most hardened Pompey fan would find it hard to muster any belief they can survive this season. Currently sitting 6 points from safety the South Coast side have had the kind of season every football fan has nightmares about, with relegation currently the least of thier worries.
Financial difficulties have crippled the club, forcing them to sell off their only assets, with Glen Johnson, Sylvain Distin and Peter Crouch all departing at the start of the season, Younes Kaboul and Asmir Begovic followed soon after to help pave the way for Pompey to pay the remainder of the squads wages before the close of January's transfer window.
Even ongoin talks to secure the club's fifth owners this season alone, would surely be too little too late if they come to fruition, and would merely serve the sole purpouse of simply keeping Pompey from closing up shop completely.

Prediction - 20th.

Wolves

Although already enjoying more success than his previous attempts at Premiership management, Mick McCarthy will no doubt be feeling the pressure as his Wolves side currently sit second from bottom.
With only 2 points from their last six Premiership games, and Tottenham, Chelsea and champions Manchester United all to come within their next four fixtures, Wanderers could find themselves firmly planted in the bottom 3 if the sides around them start to pick up points.
If they are to have any chance of survival they need to start scoring goals. Hitting the net only 20 times, they find themselves with the lowest amount of goals scored in the league this season.
Despite impressive performances from Kevin Doyle in a lone role up front, Wolves just seem to lack that all important cutting edge in the final third, and could well be their undoing as they struggle to pick up enough points to pull themselves away from safety.

Prediction - 19th

West Ham

In typical East End fashion, West Ham have had yet another soap opera like season.
Currently sitting in 18th The Hammers have once again been plagued by off field troubles throughout the campaign.
The arrival of David's Gold and Sullivan in January brought some form of stability back to Upton Park, but with performances still below par it's hard to tell what twists the writers of the Premiership script have in store for West Ham fans.
That being said, the arrival of strikers Benni McCarthy, Brazilian Ilan, and Premiership mercenary Mido, to complement the ever improving Carlton Cole up front could well trigger a revival, with Zola's men looking at key home fixtures against fellow strugglers Bolton, Hull, Wolves and Wigan between now and the end of the season.
Goal difference could be vital aswell.
The Hammers currently hold a significant advantage over the teams around them with a GD of -9, and if they can keep key players like Carlton Cole, Scott Parker and Matthew Upson fit they should survive.
Just.

Prediction - 16th.