Battle for survival: Every struggling side's strengths and weaknesses assessed - by those who watch them
The Black Cats prop up the rest of the table but are just two points from safety ahead of the return of Premier League action this coming weekend.
Ahead of the Goodison Park clash, we get the views of reporters covering the bottom seven sides to assess the strengths and weaknesses of those struggling to survive.
14TH – AFC BOURNEMOUTH
Paul McNamara, Bournemouth Echo
Main strength: Always a threat going forward
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Hide AdThe key to Bournemouth’s league position so far this season has been scoring goals.
Nobody outside of the top seven has scored more than the Cherries. With the attacking players they’ve got and the style they play, Bournemouth can cause any team problems. They play in a system that the players understand.
Whatever the results, the team believe in what they’re doing and don’t veer away from that style.
Eddie Howe has built up so much trust – with the club having gone up three divisions – and that shows the way he sets his team up works.
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Hide AdThey play attacking football with plenty of width, an expansive style, and that brave way of playing should stand them in good stead.
Main weakness: Style often leaves the backdoor open
It’s a strange thing as when Bournemouth do defend well they are hard to break down. They kept clean sheets at home to Everton and Tottenham this season.
But once they do concede, they chase the game and that can leave them open at the back. They’ve found themselves exposed more over the last couple of months, and that’s because they’ve relied on a steady back four that did so well for them last season and at the beginning of this campaign.
But a few injuries and suspensions have broken up that unit, and when one player drops out and another comes in it can have a detrimental effect on the team.
15TH – SWANSEA CITY
Andrew Gwilym, South Wales Evening Post
Main strength: The Clement effect & Gylfi Sigurdsson
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Hide AdOK, you might count this as two strengths rather than one, but there is no doubting how influential Clement and Sigurdsson are going to be in the fight against the drop.
When Clement took over at the turn of the year, Swansea were four points from safety and had suffered four hidings in a row. They looked done for.
Fast forward a little over six weeks and they are four points above the bottom three, and Clement must take much of the credit. A side who were a rabble not long ago are now organised, disciplined and have rediscovered the desire for a scrap.
Then you add in Sigurdsson. The Iceland international has been involved in 16 of Swansea’s 31 Premier League goals (eight goals, eight assists) and his undeniable quality gives Swansea an edge over several of their rivals.
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Hide AdSwansea know they always stand a chance with the former Tottenham man on the field, his talent for making things happen perfectly complements the more solid base constructed by Clement.
Main weakness: The Premier League’s worst defence
Most of the damage in this area was done before Clement arrived, but Swansea have managed to ship 54 goals in 24 games, the worst defensive record in the top-flight.
They have been vastly improved in this regard, yet the recent win over Leicester was the first time they have kept a clean sheet under Clement. The previous shut-out came against Sunderland at the start of December.
A knock-on effect has been Swansea having a goal difference that is only better than Hull, and it could yet prove costly in the final analysis with it effectively meaning – as it stands – they cannot afford to finish level on points with the majority of their relegation rivals.
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Hide AdBut, given they have won four of their last six games, Swansea and Clement know they have their destiny in their own hands and can make sure it does not end up as close as that.
They travel to Chelsea next, but then face a run of four fixtures against teams in the bottom half that are likely to define their season. Come out of those with a healthy haul of points and they will be closing in on survival.
Fail to do the business there and an uncomfortable and nerve-jangling final couple of months will lie in wait.
16TH – MIDDLESBROUGH
Jonathon Taylor, The Gazette
Main strength: Best defence outside of the top 6.
They might not always win awards for entertainment value, but Boro remain a difficult side to beat. Indeed, for a newly-promoted team to concede just 27 goals in 25 games so far is nothing short of remarkable.
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Hide AdIn comparison, Hull have conceded 49 goals – so being water-tight at the back means Boro boast a better goal difference than many of their bottom-half rivals.
Aitor Karanka’s side have already shown their ability to grind out unlikely points as a result of their rigid rearguard at the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City – and that’s something that could boost them during the final few months of the campaign.
With Boro still to travel to Chelsea and Liverpool, and with Manchester United and Manchester City still to come to the Riverside, the Teessiders may need to pick up some more unlikely points – and having a tight defence could be a priceless commodity during the run-in.
Main weakness: Lowest scorers in the division
As good as Boro’s defence has been, it means nothing if you can’t stick the ball in the net at the other end – and that’s been their Achilles heel throughout the campaign.
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Hide AdNo team has won fewer matches in the Premier League than Boro this season (4), no team has scored fewer goals (19) and no team has had fewer shots on target.
That’s the reason Boro are looking over their shoulders – they have struggled to convert draws into wins, most notably twice against Leicester, away at Watford and at home to West Brom.
Boro found themselves well on top against an in-form Everton last week, but again fired a blank in front of goal.
As a result, Karanka’s side are struggling to stay clear of trouble – and their end-of-season jitters will only increase given the improvement of Swansea and Hull in recent weeks.
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Hide AdQuite simply, Boro have to find a way of hurting the opposition more.
17TH – LEICESTER CITY
Rob Tanner, Leicester Mercury
Main strength: They have been in worse positions and survived
In terms of a relegation battle, Leicester City have been here and done it before.
In fact, they have been in pressure-filled, end of season scraps for either relegation or promotion, and even a Premier League title, for the past four seasons and have used that experience to help hold their nerve.
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Hide AdTwo seasons ago, they were in an even worse position with 13 games to go.
Under Nigel Pearson, City were bottom of the table and five points adrift of safety at the same stage of the season, but they won seven of their final nine games to complete the greatest of great escapes.
So many of that squad are still in the City camp now, so they know what it will take to address their recent form.
Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater, Andy King and Jamie Vardy were all involved in that dogfight and they need to be the leaders for the others now.
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Hide AdHowever, it doesn’t feel from the outside that there is quite the same unity and collective will within the group this time, but everyone has learned not to write this City group off.
Main weakness: Difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel
It is hard to see where the next goal, let alone next point, is going to come from. City are in terrible form and there are no signs that their dreadful run will end any time soon.
Claudio Ranieri has tried different systems and personnel in an attempt to change the direction of City’s season, but none have succeeded. There is speculation of unrest within the camp and talk that Ranieri has lost important parts of the dressing room, although the players have publicly denied any divisions.
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Hide AdConfidence is low and players who have been such consistent and reliable performers in the past are shadows of the players they once were.
Ranieri has admitted that perhaps he has been too loyal to certain individuals, but he has very little options to make wholesale changes as the club’s recruitment didn’t bring in the players required to make a difference.
Ranieri felt the same group of players who had won him the first title of his coaching career deserved a crack at the Champions League, so City didn’t strengthen adequately to meet the extra challenges.
18TH – HULL CITY
Philip Buckingham, Hull Daily Mail
Main strength: Marco Silva
He might only be six weeks into his reign as head coach but Marco Silva already looks like being the best thing to happen to Hull this season.
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Hide AdThe 39-year-old has made an instant impact, securing seven points from his first five Premier League games. That might not sound overly impressive, bu,t given his first opponents have included Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, he’s certainly hit the ground running in England.
With the help of seven new signings, the Portuguese has transformed the mood at the KCOM Stadium. Players have bought into his disciplined methods and, as a result, a leaking defence has been quickly tightened up.
City are hardly conservative under Silva, though. There’s a pleasing balance between defence and attack, with an improved ability to counter at pace.
Silva has given fans reason to believe ahead of a far more generous run of fixtures.
Main weakness: The lack of a recognised goalscorer
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Hide AdWith Robert Snodgrass sold to West Ham in January, Hull City no longer have a prolific figure in their ranks.
Snodgrass had netted nine goals in all competitions, single-handedly keeping his side in contention at the foot of the table, but without him there is a big burden for someone to take on.
Abel Hernandez and Michael Dawson are the only players to have scored more than twice in the Premier League this season. Adama Diomande, meanwhile, is all alone on two goals.
Even with injuries interrupting his season, Hernandez looks the most likely to deliver a handful of goals between now and May. He bagged 23 last season, albeit at a lower level, and showed flashes of his old self in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth last month.
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Hide AdOumar Niasse should also contribute. The on-loan Everton man netted against Manchester United in the EFL Cup semi-final and in the 2-0 win over Liverpool. After a year in the wilderness at Goodison, there’s certainly no shortage of motivation.
19TH – CRYSTAL PALACE
Robert Warlow, Croydon Advertiser
Main strength: – Sam Allardyce’s record
Sam Allardyce has a proud record of having never been relegated from the top flight.
He has done well to keep clubs in the Premier League, notably with Sunderland last season after coming in when they were ensconced in the relegation zone.
He will not want Palace to be the first club he hasn’t managed to turn around, although there has not been a ‘new manager bounce’ in his first eight games.
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Hide AdThere has been a general improvement defensively (the 4-0 Sunderland defeat aside), but the goals have dried up a bit, leaving fans fearing for their top-flight status.
However, his track record suggests he can get it right and, with the chance to work with his new signings and with his own staff now in place, Allardyce still has time to work his magic.
Main weakness: Home form
Palace have been poor for more than a year now in terms of league form overall.
They have only won five games this season, and only one of their last 10.
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Hide AdIn the calendar year of 2016, they won just six Premier League matches, and confidence has inevitably been hit. But the biggest concern has been form at Selhurst Park, with Palace bottom of the pile this campaign in terms of home results.
They have claimed just seven points in 12 home games, and Allardyce has admitted that he has to ‘break the mould’ quickly.
Palace still have crunch clashes to come at home against Middlesbrough, Watford, Leicester, Burnley and Hull. Allardyce says they will need to sort out the home form if they are to survive.
20TH – SUNDERLAND
Richard Mennear, Sunderland Echo
Main strength: Jermain Defoe
Quite simply Sunderland would already be condemned to the Championship were it not for the goals of Jermain Defoe.
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Fourteen goals in the Premier League to his name so far this season, Defoe is crucial to Sunderland’s survival hopes.
The joint-second top scorers after him are Victor Anichebe and Patrick van Aanholt, with three goals each. One is out injured for the best part of three months and the other now plays for Crystal Palace.
Defoe showed his class in the 4-0 win at Palace but he was left isolated against Southampton last week.
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Hide AdFit as a fiddle, it is vital he avoids injury for Sunderland to stand a chance of getting out of trouble.
Main weakness: Mental and defensive fragility
Sunderland showed their best and worst attributes in the space of seven days.
Against Palace, Sunderland were clinical, hitting the Eagles on the counter-attack with some incisive forward play, Defoe scoring twice en route to a huge win.
Then, with confidence sky high, Sunderland turned in the sort of performance against Southampton at the opposite end of the spectrum.
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Hide AdThe opening 25 minutes were promising, but once Southampton took the lead, the heads dropped and, defensively, Sunderland were all at sea.
Lamine Kone had an off-day and when the club’s best defender has an off-day, Sunderland are often on the end of a defeat.
Mentally, Sunderland are fragile. One week superb, the next atrocious. And Southampton took advantage of a defensive horror-show.
In a nutshell, manager David Moyes can never be sure which Sunderland will turn up.