With the vast amounts of cash flowing in the Premier League at present, the prospect of relegation is more frightening than ever.

This season is arguably the tightest relegation battle in Premier League history with nine teams realistically facing the prospect of the drop down to the Championship.

The best football betting odds believe that Alan Pardew’s West Brom are the favourites for demotion as they remain seven points off survival.

However, with so many teams in the mix, football betting is expected to go into overdrive in the campaign’s final months.

In honour of this season’s captivating relegation dog fight, here are five of the greatest ever relegation battles in Premier League history.

1993/94

The final day of the 1993/94 season was dominated by the prospect of Everton, who have remained in the top flight of English football for 40 years, being relegated if they lost at home to 6th placed Wimbledon.

Going into the final day, Everton were in the drop zone, trailing Sheffield United, Ipswich Town and Southampton.

After going 2-0 down after 20 minutes, Everton’s Premier League status was diminishing. However, a stunning comeback including a Graham Stuart winner in the 81st minute, ensured a 3-2 win for the Toffees.

Fortunately for Everton and their manager Mike Kendall, Southampton were beaten by West Ham, Ipswich fought out a goalless draw with Blackburn, and Sheffield United were cruelly defeated in the final minute 3-2 by Chelsea.

Sheffield United were relegated alongside Oldham and Swindon Town. Even a win at Stamford Bridge wouldn’t have been enough to save them considering Everton’s late winner.

1995/96

The finish to the 95/96 still remains one of the most spectacular, nerve wrecking endings in Premier League history.

Going into the final day, Bolton Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers had already relegated to the First Division of the Football League, leaving Southampton, Coventry and Manchester City to fight it out on the final day.

All three sides were level on points after the penultimate game of the season, leading to a chaotic finale.

With all three sides drawing on the final day, Manchester City were relegated after being unaware that they needed to clinch a winner against Liverpool in the remaining 12 minutes of the game.

City decided to hold out for a draw after their manager Alan Ball misinformed the players that Southampton were losing and that a point would secure survival.

2004/05

A first for the Premier League, after the penultimate game of the season, no side was mathematically relegated.

With the sides in the bottom three constantly changing throughout the final three games, at the end of it all it was Bryan Robson’s West Brom, Iain Dowie’s Crystal Palace, Harry Redknapp’s Southampton and Nigel Worthington’s Norwich fighting it out for survival on the final day.

Norwich had survival in their own hands, starting the day in 17th, but 90 minutes later a 6-0 defeat away to Fulham ensured they would finish 19th in the table.

Southampton were also relegated after a 2-1 home defeat to third placed Manchester United, as they ended their almost three-decade stint in England’s top flight.

The real excitement took place at both The Hawthorns and The Valley. Crystal Palace were 2-1 up away to Charlton with eight minutes to go, whilst West Brom were 2-0 up against Portsmouth.

Jonathan Fortune’s equaliser for Charlton guaranteed survival for the Baggies. West Brom became the first Premier League side ever to be bottom at Christmas and survive.  

2006/07

A relegation battle draped in controversy, the 2006/07 climax was one of the most enthralling in Premier League history and it largely circled around West Ham United and their Icelandic owner Eggert Magnusson.

The Hammers were optimistic at the end of the summer transfer window after completing the shock double signing of Corinthian’s Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

However poor form from the pair, alongside the remainder of the West Ham side, cost manager Alan Pardew his job in December and he was swiftly replaced by former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley.

With the relegation odds against them, West Ham played out their skin and received 21 points out of their final nine games, including a dramatic final day win away against the champions Manchester United, confirming their place in the Premier League the next season.

However, the controversy continued to linger after Sheffield United, Charlton and Watford were relegated.

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Tevez and Mascherano were owned via a third party, which broke Premier League rules. Mascherano exited the club promptly in the January window to join Liverpool, but Tevez played a crucial role in their survival bid.

Instead of receiving a points deduction, which was widely believed to be the deserved punishment, West Ham instead received a £5.5 million fine, leading to Sheffield United launching an appeal over the relegation at the season’s end.  

2008/09

A relegation battle that went to the wire, the climax of the 2008/09 season saw the three relegated teams confirmed in the final two weeks of the season.

West Brom were the first to go after losing their 37th game of the campaign 2-0 at home to Liverpool.

The following week, Sunderland, Hull City, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough fought it out for Premier League survival.

All four sides were defeated on the final day, in a straightforward manner, meaning that Middlesbrough would finish the season 19th, and Newcastle, with their all-time top goal scorer Alan Shearer at the helm, finished 18th after a disastrous season that saw them endure four different managers.

With just 11 games to go in the current campaign, the relegation betting odds will continue to fluctuate until the season’s end.

Free bet offers are continuing to be offered from the UK’s top bookmakers, so with things so tight at the bottom, there is plenty of money to be made with odds changing so drastically all the time.

Leeds United suffered their second consecutive heavy defeat in the English Championship on Wednesday night, this time losing 3-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Following a demoralising loss away to Middlesbrough at the weekend, fans were hoping for a reaction at Elland Road but were left bitterly disappointed with the performance from Paul Heckingbottom’s side.

Wolves came into the match on a three-match winless streak, but overpowered the Whites in front of their own supporters, winning thanks to goals from Romain Saiss, Willy Boly and Benik Afobe.

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One player that Leeds supporters were especially disappointed with was Kalvin Phillips, who failed to show the fight and determination in the heart of midfield that’s required to win games in the Championship.

Despite being a homegrown talent, fans are rapidly losing patience with the 22-year-old, some calling for him to be sold in the summer.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…

Henry Onyekuru has provided a positive injury update as the striker looks to return to the field before the end of the season.

The 20-year-old joined Everton from KAS Eupen during last summer’s transfer window, but has not yet represented the Toffees as he was immediately sent out on loan to Anderlecht following his arrival at Goodison Park.

The attacker managed 10 goals in his first 28 appearances for Anderlecht, but picked up a serious knee injury in December, and has not played since.

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Onyekuru, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been back in England recovering from the issue in recent weeks, and he looked free from injury in a video posted on his official Twitter page on Wednesday.

It remains to be seen whether the highly-rated attacker plays before the end of the season, but the Everton fans are looking forward to what the future will bring.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

There has been an ongoing joke for some time about the relationship between Southampton and Liverpool.

Over the years, the Merseyside outfit have purchased a handful of Saints’ players.

Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk are among the pack that have vacated St Mary’s to move to Anfield.

Whenever a new player signs for the coastal club, it does not take long for football fans to joke that in a few years, said player will join Liverpool.

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On Wednesday night, Southampton supporters witnessed three of their former players – Lovren, Van Dijk and Mane – put one foot into the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to the Reds’ 3-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield.

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The trio could be extended to a quartet if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is included, as the midfielder developed his game with the Saints before joining Arsenal for a six-year spell.

Once it dawned on Southampton supporters that their former players could potentially go all the way in the Champions League, many took to Twitter.

Newcastle further boosted their chances of pulling off a top half finish this season by dishing out yet another away defeat for Arsenal at St. James’ Park on Sunday. The Gunners went ahead first when Alexandre Lacazette found the net, but the home side quickly hit back through Ayoze Perez, who also finished the match with an assist to his name after playing through Matt Ritchie for the winner.

However, we recently asked Newcastle fans to issue individual performance ratings out of ten for those involved in Sunday’s 2-1 win and according to our poll, there were two players who impressed the Toon Army more than the goalscoring Spaniard. Here’s a rundown of the three players who received the highest average ratings…

Ayoze Perez – 8.1/10: He grabbed a goal and an assist but it appears Newcastle fans weren’t completely overawed with Perez’s performance against the Gunners – perhaps because the diminutive forward has a knack of drifting in and out of games, or perhaps because he started Sunday’s outing somewhat slowly until finding the net. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old has been in great form recently, silencing the doubters of previous seasons.

Jonjo Shelvey – 8.6/10: Shelvey’s continuously improving form has been at the heart of Newcastle’s uplift in results lately and Sunday’s showing was another impressive performance from the England international. His direct passes forward were crucial in launching Newcastle attacks and the former Liverpool midfielder offered plenty off the ball as well – making two tackles, four interceptions and four clearances.

Mohamed Diame – 9.1/10: Shelvey’s form wouldn’t be quite so impressive right now without such an energetic and dynamic force alongside him in Mohamed Diame, who provided something that’s needed in any game against the Gunners – real fight and grit in midfield. The Senegalese finished up with five tackles and five interceptions to his name, the most of any Newcastle player on both fronts.

View the results in full below…

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As reported by The Daily Record, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has discussed his first team plans for Chelsea loanee Charly Musonda, with the player finding his game time limited since moving in January.

What’s the story?

Musonda has made just three starts and eight appearances in total since making the switch from Stamford Bridge to Celtic Park during the last transfer window, leaving some Hoops fans wondering why he is not being utilised.

However, Brendan Rodgers is relaxed about his situation at the club, believing he has plenty of time to settle in and make an impact on the Hoops first team.

As quoted by The Daily Record, the Celtic boss said:

It’s a different type of loan for Charly compared to when he went to Spain and had to succeed straight away. Here he has 18 months to settle in, find the way of working and realising the pressures of a big club.

But he’s enjoying every minute of it and he knows that over time here that he will get an opportunity to show it in training where he works well and then in the games. It’s just time, that’s all.

He’s absolutely fine. He’s here for the 18 months and by the end of that he knows he is going to be a better player.

It’ll be pleasing for fans to hear he is very much in Rodgers’ plans, but can the player break into a starting eleven with players like Scott Sinclair, Patrick Roberts and James Forrest ahead of him?

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Massive goal contributions

Scott Sinclair has been criticised this season for failing to reach the standard he set at the club last term, but he’s still contributed massively to Celtic’s season, scoring 17 goals and assisting 17 times more.

Similarly, James Forrest has shown plenty of end product this term with 16 goals and eight assists.

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With 58 direct goal contributions between the two players, it’ll be difficult for Musonda to come and produce on a consistent basis ahead of them, despite his obvious natural ability and the excitement he generates amongst supporters.

Still, he came to Celtic Park to get match action and it’s clear from Rodgers’ words that he will get that in time. As he showed against FC Zenit, he can be a spark in the final third and that’s something that fans can look forward to.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will reignite two of his biggest feuds this Sunday, for one final time before he leaves the club.

The Frenchman’s rivalry with Manchester United, when they and the Gunners were battling for supremacy in the days of Alex Ferguson, was a huge clash of personalities and styles that spanned a great deal of the Premier League era.

Of course, the man who did his utmost to break that duopoly was Jose Mourinho, winning the two titles following the Invincibles season when he was in charge of nouveau-riche Chelsea.

As Wenger completes his Premier League lap of honour, he will lock horns with Mourinho and United for one final time at Old Trafford, looking to secure sixth place.

Mourinho, meanwhile, has designs on securing second place, leaping up four spots in the table this season. On the back of the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Tottenham, the Portuguese has no shortage of questions to answer ahead of the visit of their North London rivals.

Football FanCast have taken a closer look at some of the most pressing…

Does he bring Eric Bailly back?

Eric Bailly is Manchester United’s best centre-half but was not even in the squad for Saturday’s aforementioned Wembley win over Spurs.

That sparked fears that he had picked up yet another injury, but he appears to be fit. Mourinho is managing him very carefully but as he would surely want to face Chelsea in next month’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, it might be time to give him a run in the side.

He is the only one of United’s defenders who can match the pace of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mourinho’s men do generally look much more assured when he’s at the back.

Mourinho must be tempted to field him here.

Sit back or take the game to Arsenal?

Last time the two teams faced off, at the Emirates in December, Mourinho actually employed a 3-4-1-2 formation.

A back three of Marcos Rojo, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling and Jesse Lingard in the hole behind Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were the keys to victory as United stung their hosts with two early goals before pinching another on the break in the second half.

However, Arsenal could count themselves genuinely unlucky not to have won as David de Gea had to be at his very best to repel the Gunners as they frequently ripped through United, who were passive and conservative for much of the game.

So what does Mourinho do here? Does he smash and grab again? Attempt to take the game to Arsenal from the outset and keep United’s foot on the gas? Or play on the counter, but more solidly and smartly this time.

With both teams likely to use a four-man defence this time around, it will be a different encounter and Mourinho must pick his approach wisely.

Is Aubameyang Arsenal’s biggest threat?

It is no secret that Arsenal go into this one with bigger fish to fry. In days gone by, their visit to Old Trafford would be the pinnacle of their season but this game comes in between the two legs of the Europa League semi-final with Atletico Madrid.

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That tie is undoubtedly more vital than this meeting in terms of making it into the Champions League next season under their new manager – whoever he may be.

That means rotation is likely but one man who should take to the pitch at Old Trafford because he is cup-tied in the Europa League is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabonese international – valued at £58.5m by Transfermarkt – has the speed to trouble United and that may influence Mourinho’s gameplan, as discussed above. He is the man they’ll need to stop.

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Celtic’s utilisation of loans in recent years has overall had a benefit on the first team squad, with the likes of Jason Denayer, Patrick Roberts and now Odsonne Edouard all having successful spells at the club.

Edouard is the latest temporary signing to make himself a hero in green and white, scoring a superb double against city rivals Rangers in a title-winning derby match on Sunday.

It was a sensational performance and comes after the young Frenchman had already made a name for himself scoring a winning goal at Ibrox earlier in the season.

With Brendan Rodgers hopeful of signing him this summer, we asked the Celtic support in our recent poll whether or not the Hoops should pay the millions it would take to bring him to Glasgow permanently.

The vast majority were in favour of such a move, even with figures of £7m quoted by media with regards to his transfer earlier in the season.

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As shown below 92% believe the club should sign him when his loan expires.

Can Celtic now get the deal done with Paris Saint-Germain and kick-off their summer transfer window in a positive manner?

Aston Villa fans have been discussing their team selection ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Middlesbrough, and they can’t decide on one major decision.

Jonathan Kodjia was a fan favourite at Villa Park last season, smashing in goals for fun in his first season with the club.

The Ivory Coast international is quite simply a goalscoring machine when he’s at his best, but two ankle fractures have destroyed his season.

Kodjia has been slowly but surely making his way back to full fitness, featuring as a substitute six times since his return at the end of March.

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Steve Bruce elected not to risk his star striker in the first leg at the Riverside, opting instead for Lewis Grabban, with the electric Jack Grealish playing closest to him.

Kodjia played 20 minutes in the win at the Riverside, but only managed nine touches and four passes.

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The towering striker may find more success playing in a more attacking display at home, but fans are split on his return to the line-up, with 53 per cent voting against giving Kodjia the nod.

You can check out the full poll results for yourself below…

Adrian and Joe Hart had a job-share at West Ham United during the 2017-18 Premier League campaign.

Indeed, Adrian appeared in 19 of the club’s 38 league fixtures, whilst the same can be said for on-loan Manchester City stopper Hart.

It was a very strange season for Adrian when considering that he started on the bench before winning a spot in December.

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The Spaniard then dropped out of the XI once again in early March before reclaiming the number one position for the final four matches of the season.

Adrian is contracted to West Ham until the end of the 2018-19 campaign, but it might well be that he does not fit into the plans of the club’s new boss.

The West Ham fans absolutely love the 31-year-old, however, and are desperate for him to sign a new contract.

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Adrian, who is valued at £4.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, is closing on 150 appearances for the Hammers following a 2013 move from Real Betis, and it remains to be seen whether he reaches that landmark.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: