Things are heating up in the Premier League relegation battle with just four points separating the bottom nine clubs. We’ve not had a race for survival with this many teams competing for some years, and it’s difficult to predict what will happen next.

The big news from the weekend was Crystal Palace parting ways with Patrick Vieira after not winning a game in 2023 yet. Palace have had a difficult string of games, facing Man United twice, Brighton twice, Chelsea, Newcastle, Man City and Arsenal, as well as games with Brentford and Aston Villa which they would have hoped to win, but all are teams above them in the table and in good form.

They’ve also suffered some injury woes which added to the challenging period, and their next seven games are all against teams that are currently below them in the table. This timing might have felt harsh on Vieira as the fixture list was not kind, but as we all know in the Premier League results are always needed and as soon as danger looms, changes are introduced.

The other big story in this battle was Leeds’ win, the only team in the bottom eight to pick up three points over the weekend. Without the points they would have been second bottom but they’re now 14th which shows you how tight the bottom end of the table is. It was a chaotic game at Mollineux that saw Jonny Otto give a goal away, score from long-range and get sent off for Wolves.

This was only Leeds’ second win since Jesse Marsch was dismissed eight games ago, but the team will be building confidence after the 4-2 win away, and that momentum is absolutely key at this stage in the season for struggling teams. Whichever teams can improve and get better results in the next few games will push into safety, while the ones that struggle to get a result in the next few weeks are in real danger.

It will come down to confidence and who is willing to not only show up, but who is also ready to compete in the game. I have seen enough good players on the training field but now its time for men that don’t hide during games.

We have the international break for teams to regroup but when action returns it’s going to be an exciting finale to the season. #mmlove