Premier League relegation standings, schedule and the players that could decide the race to stay up

The decisive final month of the Premier League season has arrived and with it comes the race to avoid relegation. Only Norwich City have officially gone down to the second division after their abysmal campaign, winning just five of the 34 league matches they’ve played. 

That leaves two spots for relegation with Burnley, Leeds, Everton and Watford aiming to not be in those seats come season’s end.

Last week was a wild one in the league with Burnley and Everton both getting crucial wins, tightening the race beyond belief. Burnley have actually won three in a row to escape the bottom three, holding all of the momentum needed to potentially stay up.

Here’s a look at the relegation standings (as a reminder, the bottom three go down), the remaining schedule for those teams and the players who can help them stay up.

Standings 

* Norwich City have been relegated

Schedule

(All times U.S./Eastern and TV listings not yet available after May 12)

Wednesday, May 11
Leeds vs. Chelsea, 2:30 p.m. (Peacock)
Watford vs. Everton, 2:45 p.m. (Peacock)

Sunday, May 15
Tottenham vs. Burnley, 7 a.m. 
Watford vs. Leicester City, 9 a.m. 
Leeds vs. Brighton, 9 a.m. 
Everton vs. Brentford, 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, May 19
Aston Villa vs. Burnley, 3 p.m.
Everton vs. Crystal Palace, 2:45 p.m. 

Sunday, May 22
Arsenal vs. Everton, 11 a.m.
Chelsea vs. Watford, 11 a.m.
Brentford vs. Leeds, 11 a.m.
Burnley vs. Newcastle, 11 a.m.

Rodrigo, Leeds United

The Spanish veteran has not had the sharpest of starts to his stint at Leeds, dealing with injuries and inconsistent performances. After scoring seven goals last season, the central attacking midfielder only has six to his name thus far, but he’s shown flashes and has come on as of late. He’s scored in three of the team’s last six with American manager Jesse Marsch now in charge, and in each of those games the team won. Leeds have taken points from five of their last six matches. He’s got technical ability and the quality to turn a match at any minute, but he has had a bit of trouble dealing with the speed and physical play of the Premier League. 

Nick Pope, Burnley

A massively underrated goalkeeper, Pope has found his form lately, and the defense has also improved since that shocking 2-0 loss at Norwich in mid April. Burnley have not allowed multiple goals in any of their last four games and they’ve conceded two goals in their last 364 minutes. Pope will need to be at his best, especially when it comes to being attentive on long shots with Aston Villa (twice), Tottenham and Newcastle to come. 

Richarlison, Everton

Far and away Everton’s best player, the Brazilian star may have to go all Carlos Tevez for the Toffees. And by that, I mean that he may have to carry them to safety, much like Tevez did with West Ham in 2006-07. Two points from safety but with a game in hand, his winner against Chelsea on Sunday essentially kept this team in the race for survival. Facing some weak defenses in the next week with Leicester and Watford on the fixture list, this is his chance for the striker to continue to help his club avoid their first ever relegation. 

Emmanuel Dennis, Watford

This is a lost cause, really. Watford are surely going to be relegated, and it probably happens this weekend. But Dennis is the man in attack that has to get going for them to sniff survival. He has just two goals since the turn of the calendar year and will have to explode in the attacking third. Don’t count on it, though, as Watford have only scored multiple goals once in their last seven games. The service just isn’t there. Meanwhile, they’ve conceded in eight straight.