Take a look at Saturday’s match in total isolation to everything else going on at the bottom of the table and it looks one of those MUST WIN games.
In reality of course it’s not and although I expect us to win it’s my view that a draw would be a reasonable outcome at this stage of the game relegation battle.
I am an eternal optimist in all circumstances of many years- it comes with being an Iron…as sometimes it’s all we have left.
If we look at our remaining fixtures without even casting a glance in the direction of Southampton, Stoke and Huddersfield ( I believe Palace are okay) things look a lot more tense than they may turn out to be.
So let’s take one more look always remembering a major issue – that doubles over teams, which is what Saints require at the London Stadium on Saturday – very rarely occur, particularly among teams stuck around the nether regions of the league.
Here’s the fixtures remaining for Stoke, Saints, ourselves and the other club who I believe are well and truly caught up in this scrap – Huddersfield.
STOKE: Arsenal (a) Spurs (h) Hammers (a) Burnley (h), Liverpool (a), Palace (h), Swansea (a) CandH maximum points tally: 3 Final points tally 30.
SAINTS: Hammers (a) Arsenal (a) Chelsea (h), Leicester (a) Bournemouth (h), Everton (a) Manchester City (h) Maximum points tally 3 Final points tally 31
WEST HAM: Saints (h), Chelsea (a), Stoke (h), Arsenal (a) Man City (h) Leicester (a) Everton (h) Maximum points tally 7 Final points tally 37
HUDDERSFIELD: Newcastle (a), Brighton (a) Watford (h) Chelsea (a) Everton (h), Man City (a) Arsenal (h) Maximum points tally 7 Final points tally 38
As for Saturday I reckon a 2-0 win is on the cards with goals from Antonio (2)
Hope you are right Hugh, 3 points would be huge if we can follow it up against Stoke with another 3 we are probably safe, the thing is all the unlikely games often yield points at this stage of the season because you can go gung ho and spring a surprise or two.
just took your word and set up a bet.
I think you are right about Palace, they have enough about them to survive. Not sure we will get 7 points and can see the others picking up a couple more each than you suggest, it doesn’t always go to form at this end of the season, which of course may be true of the Irons as well and we could pick up some unlikely points, just like us to lose to the Saints and beat Chelsea. I just want this awful season gone with our status intact, mind you not sure if I will renew even if it is, it’s not been any fun at all this term, after all you don’t buy a season ticket to the dentist do you.
Lol. But the funny thing is that we do though.