While Manchester City race away at the top of the Premier League, the situation at the bottom is far tighter and the three sides who’ll sit beneath the relegation line come May is anyone’s guess.
And while you’d have expected certain teams to be down there, they have been joined by some bigger names such as Newcastle United, Everton and West Ham.
We take a closer look at where it has gone wrong for the basement boys, who is to blame and whether there are any reasons for optimism.
How the bottom of the Premier League looks after the weekend’s fixtures
14th NEWCASTLE UNITED
14 points; Goal difference -6
How has the season unfolded so far?
Returning to the Premier League after a single season down in the Championship, Newcastle opened with a couple of defeats before three consecutive wins proved to their fans they could compete again at this level.
But after the 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace on October 21, it’s all gone wrong for Rafa Benitez’s side, who have slipped from seventh to 14th following losses to Burnley, Bournemouth, Manchester United and Watford.
Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Hornets was particularly chastening as their defence crumbled in the face of an enterprising, counter-attacking team.
Rafa Benitez looks on with an annoyed expression during Newcastle’s 3-0 loss to Watford
Who’s to blame for their league position?
There weren’t exactly positive vibes over the summer when Benitez indicated that owner Mike Ashley’s blueprint for new signings wasn’t ambitious enough and they missed out on key targets.
Then their forward line have completely mis-fired this season, with just 11 goals scored in 13 games. Joselu, signed from Stoke City for £5million, has flopped, scoring just twice, while Aleksandar Mitrovic has just one in the league.
Dwight Gayle, the man who scored 23 goals in the Championship last season, has barely featured.
What’s more now there is continued off-field uncertainty over Ashley’s sale of the club and the anticipated takeover by Amanda Staveley and her consortium. Or more specifically whether it will lead to more squad investment.
Joselu has summed up Newcastle’s struggled in front of goal this season
Any reasons for optimism?
There have been some performances this season that confirm Newcastle belong in the top division, though they have tended to come against sides in the lower reaches of the table.
Benitez is a popular manager with the supporters and the stability he brings to the club means he won’t be removed from his post unless it’s a really dire situation.
But it’s abundantly clear that the new money can’t come soon enough.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Tuesday West Bromwich Albion (A); Saturday Chelsea (A); December 9 Leicester City (H); December 13 Everton (H); December 16 Arsenal (A); December 23 West Ham United (A); December 27 Manchester City (H); December 30 Brighton (H)
Jonjo Shelvey reflects on Watford’s third goal as Newcastle slumped to another loss
15th STOKE CITY
13 points; Goal difference -10
How has the season unfolded so far?
A season of inconsistency so far for the Potters which has seen them fail to build on the three victories they have achieved and get any kind of momentum going.
For example, they beat Arsenal 1-0 in their second game of the season, but then drew at West Brom. And when they surprisingly won at Watford in late October, they drew at home to Leicester in their next match.
There have been some unedifying moments – a 4-0 beating at home by Chelsea and shipping seven goals at Manchester City – but Stoke are presently doing just about enough to keep their heads above water.
Kevin Wimmer and Jese Rodriguez cut dejected figures after Stoke’s 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace
Who’s to blame for their league position?
Reality has to be measured against pre-season expectations, really, and after a 13th-place finish last season, nobody really expected Stoke to climb any higher this time around.
They recruited pretty well in the summer, too, spending only £25m and recovering more than that in sales, not to mention getting Jese Rodriguez and Kurt Zouma in on loan.
You’d maybe hope for a little more from Jese and Xherdan Shaqiri, while some may argue that after four years, Mark Hughes has really carried Stoke as far as he can.
Xherdan Shaqiri in action during the 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace, a game in which he scored
Any reasons for optimism?
Although only three points above the relegation zone, nobody is going to panic at Stoke just yet. They were unfortunate on Saturday in losing late to Crystal Palace and just need to arrest this mini-slump with a win.
Their goals conceded tally of 26 is among the worst in the division but remember that 11 of those came in two thrashings by City and Chelsea.
The main reason to be positive is that there are clearly enough teams with worse problems beneath Stoke in the table.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Wednesday Liverpool (H); Saturday Swansea City (H); December 9 Tottenham Hotspur (A); December 12 Burnley (A); December 16 West Ham (H); December 23 West Bromwich Albion (H); December 26 Huddersfield Town (A); December 30 Stoke City (A)
Mark Hughes will be well aware he needs to do more to steer Stoke away from the drop zone
16th EVERTON
12 points; Goal difference -15
How has the season unfolded so far?
After a summer recruitment drive that topped £100m, there was genuine optimism at Goodison Park that Everton would be pushing the top six hard and also competing long in the Europa League.
The reality has been thoroughly miserable. Ronald Koeman struggled to integrate the new players and it became clear in early season losses to Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United that they were overloaded in some positions and dangerously threadbare in others.
It is also proving hard to compensate for losing the 25 league goals supplied by Romelu Lukaku last season.
Koeman was sacked in late October after a 5-2 home defeat by Arsenal left them in the relegation zone. The hunt for a new manager continues, with David Unsworth striving, but failing, to improve their fortunes.
Wayne Rooney returned to Everton over the summer but things haven’t turned out well
Who’s to blame for their league position?
Fingers of blame can be pointed in many directions. Director of football Steve Walsh is under pressure after £45m summer signing Gylfi Sigurdsson and £24m Davy Klaassen flopped in the early weeks of the campaign.
The fact Walsh and Koeman had a strained relationship no doubt hastened the Dutchman’s departure but now Walsh could be set to follow if things don’t improve.
The dithering behind the scenes in appointing a new boss – and the fixation on prising Marco Silva away from Watford – has also proved damaging.
Ronald Koeman was sacked in late October but his replacement still hasn’t been found
Any reasons for optimism?
On the evidence of Sunday’s 4-1 capitulation at Southampton, there isn’t much to cling to and fans must hope the new manager – whoever they are – performs a swift turnaround when appointed.
There are winnable games coming up over the busy festive period, with games against West Ham, Newcastle, Swansea, West Brom and Bournemouth before the turn of the year.
There will also be no annoying Europa League distractions in the New Year and surely a side filled with so many quality players can suffer the indignity of relegation. Surely?
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Wednesday West Ham (H); Saturday Huddersfield (H); December 9 Liverpool (A); December 13 Newcastle United (A); December 16 Swansea City (H); December 23 Chelsea (H); December 26 West Bromwich Albion (A); December 30 Bournemouth (A)
Sorry-looking Everton players go over to their fans after the 4-1 loss at Southampton
17th WEST BROMWICH ALBION
11 points; Goal difference -9
How has the season unfolded so far?
Does anyone remember that West Brom opened their season with back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Burnley? It’s unlikely, given they haven’t tasted league victory since then, with six defeats from their 11 subsequent matches.
That includes losses to Southampton, Manchester City, Huddersfield and Chelsea in the four matches before Saturday’s more encouraging 1-1 draw at Tottenham.
Even survival specialist Tony Pulis couldn’t get through such a dreadful run of form unscathed and he was sacked last week with the team teetering on the brink of the bottom three, with Gary Megson taking over as caretaker.
Tony Pulis was another casualty of the early season, sacked by West Brom last week
Who’s to blame for their league position?
Obviously Pulis will take much of the flak and fans will hope the team can play with a little more expression now they’ve been freed from his negative, tactical straitjacket.
The one thing that his successor needs to address immediately is a chronic shortage of goals, with only 10 scored in the league this season and Jay Rodriguez the leading scorer with just two.
Salomon Rondon was the Baggies’ goalscorer as they drew 1-1 at Tottenham on Saturday
Any reasons for optimism?
The fans will hope the new boss – and Alan Pardew has been closely linked to the role – can come in and inspire them to a few victories that can soon propel quickly them up a tightly-bunched table.
They would be advised to get someone in place as quickly as possible, given their next three games are winnable ones against Newcastle, Palace and Swansea. They also face Stoke and Everton at Christmas, in other six-pointers.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Tuesday Newcastle United (H); Saturday Crystal Palace (H); December 9 Swansea City (A); December 13 Liverpool (A); December 17 Manchester United (H); December 23 Stoke City (A); December 26 Everton (H); December 31 Arsenal (H)
Alan Pardew, the former Crystal Palace manager, is among the candidates for the job
18th WEST HAM UNITED
10 points; Goal difference -14
How has the season unfolded so far?
A really miserable opening to the season for the Hammers, which began with three consecutive losses to Manchester United, Southampton and Newcastle and hasn’t really picked up from there.
Their only two league wins have come at home to Huddersfield and Swansea, meaning relegation to the Championship has once again become a very real prospect for the London club.
Slaven Bilic was shown the door after a sorry 4-1 home loss to Liverpool and David Moyes tasked with saving them from relegation, something he failed to do with Sunderland last season.
Slaven Bilic was sacked as West Ham manager after a sorry start to the campaign
Who’s to blame for their league position?
A combination of factors, really. Though Bilic had a fair bit of credit in the bank with the fans, by the end they had lost patience with the way the team was being set-up.
They were alarmingly disorganised at the back, liable to be overrun by any opponent with any form of pace, while summer signings in attack Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic haven’t exactly been banging in the goals.
But most of the fans’ ire seems to be directed at the club’s owners David Gold and David Sullivan for their haphazard recruitment and insufficient investment for new signings compared to their Premier League peers.
Andre Ayew screams out during West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Friday night
Any reasons for optimism?
The fans will have to place their faith in Moyes to steer them out of the drop zone, with Friday’s 1-1 draw with Leicester a point to build upon.
New signings in January are needed and could well prove crucial, as will keeping the players fit. Bilic had a number of injury crises during his time in charge.
It may be best to avoid looking at the fixture list, however, with matches against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in rapid succession in December.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Wednesday Everton (A); Sunday Manchester City (A); December 9 Chelsea (H); December 13 Arsenal (H); December 16 Stoke City (A); December 23 Newcastle (H); December 26 Bournemouth (A); December 31 Tottenham (A)
David Moyes has been charged with steering West Ham away from the relegation zone
19th SWANSEA CITY
9 points; Goal difference -8
How has the season unfolded so far?
The first few weeks of the season saw Swansea win 2-0 at Crystal Palace and draw away to Tottenham, but it’s been thoroughly depressing since then with six defeats from their last eight.
A 2-0 home win over Huddersfield has been the only light in a gloomy tunnel that has seen manager Paul Clement come under intense pressure and the team slide down the table into the drop zone.
The Welsh side had become a reliable mid-table outfit until last season’s brush with the drop, but this campaign just hasn’t got going.
Paul Clement sees a chance go begging in Swansea’s goalless draw with Bournemouth
Who’s to blame for their league position?
There was a fair amount of recruitment in the summer, while the loan signing of Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich really caught the eye, but new arrivals and old guard alike have struggled for any decent form.
The main problem lies in attack. Swansea are the league’s lowest scorers with just seven goals to their name and Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham has scored four of those. The others are just profligate.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins emphatically backed Clement in his programme notes on Saturday but patience is wearing thin and a decision on Clement may soon have to be made.
Tammy Abraham has been just about the only Swansea player capable of scoring this season
Any reasons for optimism?
If there is something to offer hope, it’s that Swansea don’t concede as many goals as the other in-trouble teams around them. Aside from a 4-0 loss to Man United back in August, they haven’t been on the receiving end of too many thrashings.
That is at least a foundation to build upon though the greater imperative is to find some goals. Clement has regularly changed his team and tactics to try and stumble upon he magic formula – plus there has been moments of misfortune like Saturday’s disallowed goal – but most has been down to a lack of creation and some wayward finishing.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Wednesday Chelsea (A); Saturday Stoke City (A); December 9 West Brom (H); December 13 Manchester City (H); December 18 Everton (A); December 23 Crystal Palace (H); December 26 Liverpool (A); December 30 Watford (A)
Swansea players argue with the referee after they had a goal ruled out against Bournemouth
20th CRYSTAL PALACE
8 points; Goal difference -17
How has the season unfolded so far?
What a crazy season it has been at Selhurst Park. The new dawn of Frank de Boer lasted just a few weeks after his interpretation of Total Football saw the season begin with defeat after defeat.
He was replaced by the safe hands of Roy Hodgson as early as September 12, with thrashings at the hands of the two Manchester clubs making it seven consecutive defeats to start the season with.
However, slowly but surely, the former England manager has turned things around. There have been wins over Chelsea and Stoke, batting draws with West Ham and Everton and only two further losses.
They do seem to have turned the corner, though whether it will be enough to finish above the line in May remains to be seen.
Frank de Boer’s tenure at Crystal Palace was short and not particularly sweet
Who’s to blame for their league position?
Yes, it was abysmal at times right at the start of the season but there remains a sense that De Boer should have been given more time and the hierarchy pressed the panic button too soon.
I guess we’ll never know and, with every positive performance under Hodgson, it does look increasingly like the correct decision to pull the plug on the Dutchman’s philosophy-driven approach.
Goals have been in really short supply as well with just the eight in the Premier League so far. The strikers urgently need more service and need their confidence boosted. But that is slowly coming back.
Roy Hodgson has improved Palace’s fortunes though they remain at the foot of the table
Any reasons for optimism?
Yes, plenty of late. At least in the context of the first two months of the season. Hodgson has brought improved displays, more self-belief and, most crucially, some desperately-needed points.
The next few weeks contain a mixture of critical meetings against the teams just above them and encounters with those in form towards the upper end of the table. But Palace can now approach all of them with hope.
Fixtures for the rest of 2017
Tuesday Brighton (A); Saturday West Brom (A); December 9 Bournemouth (H); December 12 Watford (H); December 16 Leicester City (A); December 23 Swansea City (A); December 28 Arsenal (H); December 31 Manchester City (H)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates with Wilfried Zaha after scoring against Stoke on Saturday