Two out of three must fall in Premier League relegation showdown
LONDON: Sunday will be a day of despair for two out of the three clubs fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League. The unlucky two will receive between £70m and £90m in parachute payments but that will not make amends for the loss of image, star players, sponsorship potential and both national and international visibility.
The trio at risk are among the historic names of the English game. Everton boast 15 major national and international titles and are second only to Arsenal for top-flight presence; Leeds were one of the powers of the 1960s and the 1970s while Leicester earned worldwide headlines by winning the Premier League in 2016.
Everton would suffer the most from going down. The owners have made a string of bad decisions on managers and transfers ever since long-serving manager David Moyes left for Manchester United in 2013. Building work on a new stadium continues but access to the financial backing of Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov has been cut off by Ukraine war sanctions.
Survival will be guaranteed only if manager Sean Dyche guides his team to victory at home to Bournemouth on Sunday. Dyche said: “When I became manager here, in February, we needed to re-connect with the fans. We wanted an on-pitch connection. Now I think they’re seeing everyone, from myself, the staff and the players, giving their lot.
“We’ve made some mistakes but not through a lack of effort. Now the fans are playing their part. We’ll need them right with us this week.”
Everton, at home to becalmed Bournemouth, have the least difficult of the tasks facing the threatened trio.
Leicester are two points below Everton but with a far better goal difference. They should win at home against a West Ham whose minds will be on their UEFA Conference League final against Fiorentina on June 7.
All this means that the odds are stacked against 19th-placed Leeds. They returned to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020 but have failed to build on the euphoria. They can beat managerless Tottenham but that will almost certainly not be enough.
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