We were treated to a lesson on arithmetic yesterday as the pundits at Sky Sports had some good news on our potential relegation woes . 
During The Football Show, reporter Mark McAdam and host Rob Wotton took a look at the bottom of the table
Using some “in-depth statistics” from previous Premier League seasons, the duo ( armed with a calculator) showed that 33.8 points is the average needed to secure safety in recent times.
It was also suggested that figure looks highly likely – based on remaining fixtures and points tallies from the same stage in previous seasons – to be sufficient for the current campaign.
“The big question I guess is how many points will be needed to stay up, could this be the lowest ever?” Wotton said.
McAdam then showed the number of points needed to stay in the Premier League in each of the last five seasons going back to 2017/18.
It showed the average to be 33.8 with McAdam suggesting Bournemouth – on 33 points – need one more result and suggesting those above them are all but safe already. The bookies share their view with West Ham 50/1 shots to be relegated.
Points needed to stay in the Premier League
2021/22 – 36
2020/21 – 29
2019/20 – 35
2018/19 – 35
2017/18 – 34
With the Irons now on 34 points after the Bournemouth win, that is comforting news for Moyes and his players.
All well and good , if you believe in such things. But there is still a lot of work to do; as this stage of the season it is all about momentum and we also have our wonderfully distracting European adventure as well.
By Simon Leyland
Numbers are a peculiar thing. If we remove the one “extreme” from the data (29 points in the 2020/21 season), the average becomes 35 points to avoid relegation. A small difference some might say, but at 34 points it suggests we need 1 more point and if not we relegate. This is obviously just data from the past, but I do believe another 3 points would make us safe; make it 4 and I will sleep comfortably again!
These are stats , personally I think we need 40 plus to be safe . Hey why not would be a fantastic result if we beat Liverpool , would love it ! COYI ⚒