Everton: Stan Collymore predicts four into three relegation battle against Leeds United, Southampton and Nottingham Forest
Stan Collymore believes Nottingham Forest will be safe and Everton and Leeds will follow Southampton into the Championship at the end of the season.
The former Forest striker has tipped his old side for safety thanks to their preferable fixtures in the final four games, with the Toffees and the Whites facing a difficult run in.
Sean Dyche faces Brighton and Manchester City, before a trip to Wolves, then finish the season against Gary O’Neil’s resurgent Bournemouth.
Writing in his column for Caught Offside the ex-England striker chose “my three picks to be relegated” and said: “As for which teams I do think will go down…
“Southampton look doomed – I think they’re probably most people’s first pick, so no surprises there. Everton’s remaining fixtures look really, really tough, so they’re my second pick and purely because Nottingham Forest have a couple more winnable games (on paper) than Leeds United do, I am going to make the Whites my third pick.”
Tight
Those are currently the four bottom sides in the Premier League, and both Everton and Leeds undoubtedly have a set of tough assignments.
Leicester are level on points with both the latter and Forest on 30 but Collymore seems to assume they are safe as he doesn’t even mention the Foxes.
Dean Smith’s fixtures – Fulham, Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham – aren’t a walk in the park either so they should surely still be considered.
Forest do have the luxury of a home game against the lowly Saints this weekend, followed by a trip to a currently-winless Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
Leeds just brought in their fourth manager of the season in Sam Allardyce, just in time for a trip to the Etihad and a meeting with Newcastle so their tasks look daunting.
There isn’t a huge amount of belief surrounding Dyche’s beleaguered squad, but there is still a route out of danger.
All the clubs in the battle have to back themselves at this stage otherwise the battle is already lost, and both Everton and Leicester were left cursing an inability to take three points at the King Power on Monday night (1 May), both it’s not over until it’s over.
Perhaps crucially for the Toffees and for Leeds they both have recent experience of a late, late escape.