Everton may drop out of the elite for the first time in 68 years

Fulham is already officially out of the APL, and many clubs are looking at the success of the Cottagers with envy and continue to fight for promotion. But in order for some to move up, others need to leave. Today on Fizzslotsnews.com, talk about the potential underdogs of the soccer season.

England

After losing to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Everton, who last played out of the elite league in the 1953/54 season, have fallen into the relegation zone of the English Premier League. Not many current Toffees fans remember their team playing in the Second Division, as the last time it happened was 68 years ago, that is, the youngest witnesses of those events are “a little over 70”.

Everton already regretted that before the start of the season they entrusted the team to Rafael Benitez, but with the arrival of Frank Lampard it only got worse: only 3 wins and 8 defeats in 12 games under the guidance of the Chelsea legend. With six games to go, Everton are now two points adrift of the bottom of the table, but they do have a game in hand which, if won, would allow them to edge ahead of Burnley.

It seemed that Sean Dyche’s dismissal at the end of the season would be a verdict for the Clarets, but after the departure of the long-time coach, Burnley have spread their wings, scoring 7 out of a possible 9 points in three rounds. Another contender for relegation is Leeds, who have a slight advantage in points and also a match in reserve against Burnley.

On the other hand, the calendar of Jesse Marsch’s team, who replaced Marcelo Bielsa during the season, is very difficult, with matches against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal ahead. “Everton, Burnley or Leeds will get the last black mark, but bottom of the table Norwich and Watford will not escape. They can book their places in the Championship with a view to the Premier League, because they will try to return to the top level in a year.

Spain

If at the top of the Spanish league table everything is clear, then in the fight for survival the most interesting is ahead. Levante and Alaves are among the relegated, with 25 points each, but even their song has not yet been sung, the more so in the face-to-face match, which will give someone hope. Levante, if you believe your gut feeling, is out of place. In April, the Frogs gave battle to Barcelona and Sevilla, in both games they did not score penalties and lost 2:3. Before that, they had a 3-3 draw with Real Madrid and four points against Atletico, the reigning Spanish champion.

Alaves also has a win against Atletico, two draws against Sevilla and one against Barcelona. These are the outsiders in Spain, and they are only two of the worst teams. Granada, Cadiz and Mallorca are also contenders for relegation, although they have ruthlessly strangled the leaders during the season: Mallorca has two wins over Atletico, Cadiz recently beat Barcelona and have never lost a Champions League semifinalist in three games – 0-0 against Real Madrid, 3-3 and 1-0 against Villarreal. How do they do it? And why are they sagging at the bottom of the table?

Italy

Salernitana (25 points), Genoa (25) and the classy Venice (22) are at the bottom of the table in Serie A. They are trying to catch up with Cagliari (28) and Sampdoria (30). The main event of recent weeks is the three consecutive victories of Salernitana. Just 10 days ago the team, for which Franck Ribery plays, was in 20th place and seemed to have one foot in Serie B, but victories over Sampdoria, Udinese and Fiorentina revived the hope of salvation. By the way, Salernitana’s loanee Emil Bohinen plays in the Salernitana lineup.

Germany

“Greuther Fürth is a hopeless Bundesliga underdog. Arminia, Stuttgart and Hertha, on the other hand, have options. The Berliners are in the most favorable position with 32 points, followed by Stuttgart (28) and Arminia (26). The penultimate team will fly out directly with Greuter Fürth, the 16th-ranked club will play in the tie for the right to remain in the Bundesliga next season.

France

France has the same system as Germany – two teams drop out at once, while the third from the bottom gets the “last chance” in the tiebreaker. The last place is now Metz (24 points), the penultimate – Bordeaux (27). For Bordeaux fans this is as dramatic a situation as for their Goodison Park colleagues: the Girondins have been in the top flight of French soccer since 1949.

There are no particular prerequisites for Bordeaux’s “resurrection” so far, so the struggle to avoid the knockout stage looks like a separate chapter: now 18th place is occupied until recently by France’s most titled club, Saint-Etienne (31), but Clermont (33), Trois (33), Lorient (34) and Angers (35) are also feeling the cold breath of Ligue 2.

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