Bolton


Recent Form: Not great. They've won twice this year, but those successes were against Derby and Reading, and frankly you should be tarred, feathered then dipped in acid if you don't beat those showers. Their inability to kill teams off is becoming chronic, particularly against Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago, when they battered Pompey but still lost.


Upcoming Games: Liverpool visit next up, then it's Wigan away before Manchester City and Arsenal at home. So prospects aren't brilliant then. However, they will need to get some points in the bag before their last few games, as they surely can't expect to get much at Chelsea or Spurs. Sunderland at home in the penultimate game could be a corker.


Why They Will Go Down: Goals. Or lack of. Nic Anelka will still be their top scorer by a distance at the end of the season, unless Gregorz Rasiak suddenly goes goal crazy, which is unlikely to say the least. Another worry is that, of the six games they have won this season, just one (a frankly freak result against Manchester United) has been against a top-half side. And with the likes of Villa, City and West Ham to come (quite apart from Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea), that will need changing, and sharpish. Also, while Bolton's fans probably enjoyed being tear-gassed in Madrid last week, the UEFA Cup run (Fiorentina next up) could prove to be a fatal distraction.


Why They Won't Go Down: Simply put, Bolton may be another who survives because there are three worse teams than them. You could argue that Megson's side are the most combative of the strugglers, and could fight (perhaps literally) their way out of bother. Also, Kevin Nolan has looked in decent enough form. Perhaps he'll start touting himself for the England squad again...


Odds To Go Down: 3/1.





Birmingham


Recent Form: Not great, but not terrible either. They haven't won since Boxing Day, but those eight games have featured five draws, including two against Arsenal. However, they did fail to beat Derby at the start of February, a crime for which they should be smacked around with a sturdy plank of wood.


Upcoming Games: Promising. Seven of their eight games against the 'big four' are out of the way (just the occasionally-vulnerable Liverpool to come), while three of their remaining four away games are against the very beatable Wigan, Fulham and Reading.


Why They Will Go Down: Their is slightly concerning paucity of quality in their ranks. Against Arsenal only James McFadden showed much invention, and while Alex McLeish has made them tough to beat, they will have to start turning those draws into wins if they are to be truly secure.


Why They Won't Go Down: While they haven't been winning that many games of late, they haven't been losing that many either. As said before, draws could be crucial in what is likely to be a low-scoring relegation battle. They proved on Saturday against Arsenal that they can get a result without playing well, something crucial to any struggler.


Odds To Go Down: 2/1.





Reading


Recent Form: The footballing equivalent of a disgusting, gaping, open, puss-seeping, maggot-infected wound. Lost the last eight, no wins since December 22, they've only scored twice this year and one of those was a last-minute consolation against Villa at the weekend. Steve Coppell has some serious work to do if they're going to get out of this mess.


Upcoming Games: On paper, the good news for Reading is that six of their remaining 11 games are against the other strugglers. On grass, that actually might not be the best news. Reading's success over the last couple of seasons hasn't exactly been based on a gritty fighting spirit


Why They Will Go Down: Every week we expect Reading to climb out of their slump, but every week they seem to lose again. To survive they will have to snap out of it bloody sharpish, starting with the trip to Middlesbrough at the weekend. Their lack of goals is a massive concern. None of their strikers have scored since that bonkers game against Spurs at the end of 2007, and top scorer from last term Kevin Doyle hasn't bagged since early December.


Why They Won't Go Down: If they can re-discover the sort of form that made them the surprise of last season they might be okay, but they will have to do it quickly. The fact that they have a good few games against their fellow strugglers may help, but it's not looking great for the Royals.


Odds To Go Down: 9/4.





Fulham


Recent Form: Pretty rancid. A Jimmy Bullard free-kick gave them a win against Villa earlier in the month, but before that, their last three points came against Reading in November. Their habit of conceding late goals tripped them up again at the weekend when Nolberto Solano's studs and arm robbed them of a win against West Ham, and will probably prove fatal to them.


Upcoming Games: 'Oh dear' is the best way to sum up Fulham's next few fixtures. Manchester United and Everton visit Craven Cottage, inbetween which are trips to Blackburn and Newcastle. Then, it's the clash of the titans when they travel to Derby. For any Premier League fans unfamiliar with the standard of football in the Championship, tune in to this one and you'll find out.


Why They Will Go Down: They don't have the players. Lawrie Sanchez was the latest manager to learn that if you fill your side with Championship players, then you'll get Championship performances. Signing up Roy Hodgson (who hadn't managed in England since 1998 before taking the job) was probably not the wisest move to dig them out of a hole either.


Why They Won't Go Down: Hhhhmmmmm. Tricky one. Simply put, they probably will go down, but if they are to escape then it will probably have something to do with everyone's favourite poodle-haired midfielder Jimmy Bullard. His return to the side following that horrible knee injury was, as the cliche goes, just like a new signing. He is just the sort of tenacious player that the other strugglers wish they had, but tenacity alone won't save Fulham, especially when Bullard is lining up next to Clint Dempsey and Diomansy Kamara. The fact that they seem to be pinning their hopes on Daniel Cousin's move from Rangers going through says an awful lot.


Odds To Go Down: 2/7.

me too ............

Fulham and reading for me

Fulham haven't got enough quality in their team. You look in their team and who is a realy prem player, none really catch my eye. Their form is pretty terrible and they just can't win away from home and if you wanna be in the Prem you gotta win away and at home.

I cant decide between Reading and Birmingham but my gut feeling is that Reading will stay up.

Fulham and Brum to go down.

Reading wont stay up imo. They have been really poor this season and cant score. Yes they scored one against villa but 1/ it was a keeping mistake and 2/ it was there first goal in ages