Who's Going Down?: EPL Relegation Battle Continues

The teams that I predict will be relegated are named in bold.

Derby County I start my article with them because I feel Derby are surely going down this season.

It's a fact now that all Derby fans and players alike have been forced to believe this is because they are currently placed at the bottom of the table and have no hope of survival. Now that one spot appears occupied,there are two more spots available that will be taken up by the teams who will be relegated to the Championship.

The likely contenders include as many as six clubs (Newcastle United, Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Birmingham City, and Reading).

Of these, Newcastle is surely the one that you feel have enough quality to overcome the drop.

The Toon have the likes of Owen, Viduka, Martins, Smith, Barton, Duff, Milner, N'Zogbia, Taylor, and Butt in their squad.

Certainly,the Magpies have had their fair share of problems with Kevin Keegan yet to win a game, but after the game with Birmingham, I feel they are collecting the positives and surely at some point the Newcastle Fans would hope King Keegan to work his magic and at least save them from relegation.

Birmingham manager Alex McCleish has come out saying they are not even thinking of relegation, and it is a positive statement.

City only came up last year and they certainly do not want to be going down again. Keeping their performance in the 4-1 win over Spurs in mind, I feel even Birmingham should be safe come the end of the season.

Fulham, on the other hand, have not had overwhelming success either at Craven Cottage or away. 

Roy Hodgson has the international experience, but i feel he has not settled well into the English game, this time round. Bullard, Davies, Dempsey, and Murphy are the only rays of hope that the Cottagers can cling on to.

Now that they have McBride back and Kamara looking good for goals, one would expect them to be safe, but I do not agree with this. Personally, I reckon Fulham will be the second team to drop this season, entirely because they are unable to put out a winning combination on the pitch and are very inconsistent.

Roy Keane took over as Sunderland boss around a year ago, and the United legend has enjoyed overwhelming success as he brought the Black Cats back into the Top Flight of English football.

Sunderland have the players, they have the support, they have the manager, and they have the belief. In short, this is the formula to survive, but it is of no value if the players do not go out and perform on the pitch. With Chopra, Yorke, Leadbitter, Read, and Richardson in their ranks, I feel they have the quality and the ability to stay up for next season.

Reading come next here. Steve Coppel and his Royals have not had as great a season as they had last season, but they still appear to be defying all odds.

As a team,they have the potential to play exciting football, and with players like Kitson and Doyle who have the hunger to succeed at the top level, I think even Reading will be amongst those competing for glory in the Premier League next season.

Bolton Wanderers are a huge club and they have numerous fans who pack the Reebok Stadium every week.

This is because they have a great team that includes some very talented players like Nolan, Diouf, Taylor, and Campo. Gary Megson has been very inconsistent since he took over from Sammy Lee. He's gotten some big results, but Bolton has been very poor playing against lower ranked clubs.

This is why i feel Bolton will be the "surprise" drop-outs this season.