The Premier League relegation battle has taken several unexpected turns in the early weeks of 2026, with teams such as West Ham, Wolves and Burnley mounting surprise challenges to avoid being demoted to the Championship. After rolling into the New Year with one win in 10 games, West Ham's fortunes have dramatically changed since a morale-boosting win against Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round on January 11th.
The Hammers' resurgence has bridged the gap between themselves and 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to only six points. Despite a late loss at Chelsea last time out, West Ham remain buoyed by their recent wins against Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland, which have helped them stay in contention for survival.
Burnley, meanwhile, added to their tally with respectable draws against Liverpool and Tottenham, but a 3-0 defeat by Sunderland on Monday left them 11 points from safety. Wolves still look nailed-on for a season in the Championship next term, but Rob Edwards' side have at least stopped the rot in recent weeks.
History suggests that it would take a mammoth effort for any of these teams to beat the drop this season. In the past nine seasons since the Premier League's inception in 1992, only nine teams have overturned a six-point deficit after 23 games or more to survive. The most recent sides to achieve this feat were Aston Villa (2019-20), Leicester City (2014-15) and Sunderland (2013-14).
With seven Premier League clubs currently involved in the relegation battle, including Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Tottenham, fans are bracing themselves for a thrilling – if not treacherous – finish to the season. The Eagles, who have sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City last month, look particularly vulnerable, with their recent form resembling that of a team winless in 12 matches across all competitions.
The average number of points needed for survival, or the number of points the 18th-placed team finished plus one, is 35.53 - rounded up to 36 points. This has held true for 60% of teams over the past 30 Premier League seasons that have had 38 games a season.
In conclusion, the Premier League relegation battle remains wide open, with several teams still in contention despite being deep in debt and facing long odds. West Ham's resurgence has breathed new life into their survival hopes, but history suggests that any team hoping to avoid the drop will need to achieve something truly remarkable.
The Hammers' resurgence has bridged the gap between themselves and 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to only six points. Despite a late loss at Chelsea last time out, West Ham remain buoyed by their recent wins against Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland, which have helped them stay in contention for survival.
Burnley, meanwhile, added to their tally with respectable draws against Liverpool and Tottenham, but a 3-0 defeat by Sunderland on Monday left them 11 points from safety. Wolves still look nailed-on for a season in the Championship next term, but Rob Edwards' side have at least stopped the rot in recent weeks.
History suggests that it would take a mammoth effort for any of these teams to beat the drop this season. In the past nine seasons since the Premier League's inception in 1992, only nine teams have overturned a six-point deficit after 23 games or more to survive. The most recent sides to achieve this feat were Aston Villa (2019-20), Leicester City (2014-15) and Sunderland (2013-14).
With seven Premier League clubs currently involved in the relegation battle, including Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Tottenham, fans are bracing themselves for a thrilling – if not treacherous – finish to the season. The Eagles, who have sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City last month, look particularly vulnerable, with their recent form resembling that of a team winless in 12 matches across all competitions.
The average number of points needed for survival, or the number of points the 18th-placed team finished plus one, is 35.53 - rounded up to 36 points. This has held true for 60% of teams over the past 30 Premier League seasons that have had 38 games a season.
In conclusion, the Premier League relegation battle remains wide open, with several teams still in contention despite being deep in debt and facing long odds. West Ham's resurgence has breathed new life into their survival hopes, but history suggests that any team hoping to avoid the drop will need to achieve something truly remarkable.
Teams like West Ham, Wolves & Burnley have been doing decently well after the winter break, I'm still not convinced they'll stay up though 
Still gotta see how they perform over the next few games. 6 points between them and safety is a pretty long way off. Only time will tell if anyone can defy the odds...
. Just like in real life, we think we're stuck or lost, and then suddenly we find our footing again 
. West Ham's recent wins are a perfect example of this – they were struggling, but now they're right back in the mix 
. It just goes to show that never give up and stay positive, even when things seem darkest 
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. Burnley's recent loss was a harsh reminder that we can't just rely on luck or past performances 
. In football, as in life, there's always room for improvement and learning from our mistakes 
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. What worked last time might not work this time, so we have to stay adaptable 
! west ham's win against qpr was def a morale booster and now they're in contention for survival? burnley's recent draws are cool, but that 3-0 loss to sunderland is not good 
. wolves might be done for already, sadly.
... 36 points? it feels so far away now especially with teams being in debt and all 
. u can't just rely on past seasons to determine a team's fate, each season is different. it'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the end 
. Like, we all knew West Ham was gonna turn it around after that FA Cup win. And Burnley's been saying they're gonna challenge for survival for ages now... meanwhile, Wolves are still struggling to stop the rot 
. Can't help but wonder if history is just a load of made-up stats to keep us fans in suspense 
! West Ham's sudden resurgence is like a bad case of déjà vu... who would've thought they'd turn it around after that FA Cup win? 
Burnley's draws are nice, but 3-0 defeat by Sunderland? That's like losing the lottery 
! Wolves might be done for, but at least they're not getting knocked out of contention just yet 
. And those odds on survival? Forget about it – they'd need to win the Champions League and sell their soul to the Premier League gods 
. It's anyone's game, folks! Who's got the magic formula to save themselves from the drop? The only thing for sure is it'll be a wild ride until the end of the season 
!
. I'm still hoping for some upsets in this relegation battle, though – who doesn't love an underdog story? Maybe someone like Wolves will surprise us all and stay up, but I think Burnley's odds are looking pretty grim atm 
wolves have been super consistent all season and i think they've got this one in the bag. it'll be so wild if any of these teams make it to safety tho! 
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. Meanwhile, teams like Aston Villa and Leicester City who have had more resources at their disposal were able to make comebacks before.
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i mean west ham went from 0-10 without a win and now they're only 6 points behind nottingham forest lol what's gonna happen next? burnley's draws are awesome but that 3-0 loss to sunderland is like woah 
and tottenham's recent form is straight up ugly 
as for the chances of teams beating the drop i think its super slim the stats show only a few teams have done it before so fingers crossed for our fave hammers 
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