Premier League relegation battle: Who will survive? Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton and West Ham among – talkSPORT.com

A festival of football beckons for fans when the Premier League season restarts in just a few days.

Players will no doubt be delighted to get back playing the game they love, but the pressure will be straight back on for them, especially for those fighting to keep their clubs in the division.

Its going to be a real fight for survival, with games coming thick and fast over the next six weeks.

Norwich, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Watford, West Ham and Brighton are all in danger of relegation, with less than a quarter of the campaign left to go.

Southampton and Newcastle could also be dragged into the battle for survival but look to have just enough points on the board and probably need only one win or two to guarantee safety.

Here, talkSPORT.com takes an in-depth look at what each of the relegation-threatened sides must do to remain in the Premier League

What happened before football stopped

The Canaries have it all to do when the season restarts as theyre currently six points off safety.

Theyve never really hit form and had only won one of their last six league matches before the season was halted.

Remaining games

Norwich's remaining PL fixtures 19/20

Southampton (H) June 19

Everton (H) June 24

Arsenal (A) July 1

Brighton (H) TBC

Watford (A) TBC

West Ham (H) TBC

Chelsea (A) TBC

Burnley (H) TBC

Manchester City (A) TBC

Key player: Temmu Pukki

If Norwich are to stay up, theyll need Pukki to rediscover the form he had at the start of the season, which saw him score six goals in his first five league matches.

At that point, Norwich were twelfth on six points having even claimed a win against Manchester City.

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Mission

The players will fight until its mathematically impossible but as well as needing to be near-perfect in their final nine matches, Norwich will need to rely on other results to stay up.

Thats why the club should perhaps start preparing for life in the Championship a few good results after the restart could restore some morale and set them up well for next season.

Whats being said

Not many are backing Norwich to stay up, while manager Daniel Farke has even admitted that the club will need a little miracle to survive.

talkSPORT Super Computer predicts

20th (Relegation)

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What happened before football stopped

Defence has been Villas main issue this season, conceding 56 goals in the league, which is more than any other club.

Dean Smiths side are in horrid form, losing their last four, including a dreadful 4-0 defeat at Leicester in March, which was the last Premier League match to have been played before the season stopped.

Remaining games

Aston Villa's remaining PL fixtures 19/20

Sheffield United (H) June 17

Chelsea (H) June 21

Newcastle (A) June 24

Wolves (H) June 27

Liverpool (A) TBC

Manchester United (H) TBC

Crystal Palace (H) TBC

Everton (A) TBC

Arsenal (H) TBC

West Ham (A) TBC

Key player: Jack Grealish

The captain has easily been Villas best player this season and the fans will be looking to him to steer the side away from danger.

A mention should also go to midfielder John McGinn. It looked like his season was over when he sustained an ankle injury in December but the stoppage has allowed him time to recover and hell surely play a part in the remaining ten matches Villa have left.

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Mission

Beat Sheffield United in their first match of the restart and Villa are out of the relegation zone, thats how close it is.

They have some tough games later on though, including matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United. Their final match at West Ham could be crucial.

Whats being said

Danny Murphy told talkSPORT.com: Villas a difficult one because theyve got some talented players. The clubs huge and has got a great fanbase. I dont know if theyve got enough firepower though.

talkSPORT Super Computer predicts

18th (Relegation)

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What happened before football stopped

Theyve never been ones to challenge for the European spots but the amount theyve struggled this season will have surprised many.

Bournemouth are currently 18th and were in bad form before the seasons stoppage as they were without a win in their last four, losing three of them.

Remaining games

Bournemouth's remaining PL fixtures 19/20

Crystal Palace (H) June 20

Wolves (A) June 24

Newcastle (H) July 1

Manchester United (A) TBC

Tottenham (H) TBC

Leicester (H) TBC

Manchester City (A) TBC

Southampton (H) TBC

Everton (A) TBC

Key player: Aaron Ramsdale

Goals have been hard to come by for the Cherries this term theyve scored 29 goals in as many games. And with Ryan Fraser set to not play beyond the terms of his contract, their options going forward will be looking quite bare.

This is why it may be wise for Eddie Howe to build a team thats tough to break down during the final few matches and at the heart of this will be goalkeeper Ramsdale. He may only have four clean sheets this season but hes had a number of great games which has led to calls for him to be picked for England.

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Mission

Whats being said

Murphy told talkSPORT.com: Bournemouth have had a terrible season by their standards. I think they may stay in the relegation zone.

talkSPORT Super Computer predicts

17th

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What happened before football stopped

Watford were languishing at the foot of the table with eight points from 15 matches when Nigel Pearson was put in charge.

The former Leicester boss has steadied the ship but the Hornets are by no means out of the woods yet and were in bad form before the season was halted, winning just one of their last seven league matches. Only goal difference is keeping them above the relegation zone.

Remaining games

Watford's remaining PL fixtures 19/20

Leicester (H) June 20

Burnley (A) June 25

Southampton (H) June 28

Chelsea (A) TBC

More here:

Premier League relegation battle: Who will survive? Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton and West Ham among - talkSPORT.com

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