Who's got the fight to survive the Premier League relegation scrap?

At the start of 2026, the relegation places in the Premier League looked like a foregone conclusion. 

Wolves, rooted to the bottom, without a win all season, were already preparing for Championship football next season, with Burnley also looking like continuing their yoyoing between the two tiers. While West Ham's dismal campaign looked to be costing them Premier League football. 

Yet, just a few weeks later, there have been signs of life from each. Wolves, still too far back for a great escape, have at least given their fans something to cheer. Burnley are scrapping for points, and the Hammers' recent winning streak has closed the gap to the teams above. 

DAZN News looks at which teams have the fight in them to navigate the relegation battle. 

Wolves 

Credit must go to Rob Edwards, because even the notion that Wolves had any glimmer of hope looked to have passed a long time ago, and most were expecting Derby's record low points haul to be finally broken by the men from Molineux. 

However, 2026 has been a much more enjoyable year already for the Wolves fans, thanks to Edwards' tiny revival. The midlanders got their first win of the campaign against West Ham, and their small unbeaten run across January means they are closing on that magic 11-point total, which would see them surpass the league's worst-ever return. 

They won't survive. But with games ahead against the rest of the bottom six, they'll have a massive say on who's joining them in the Championship next season. 

Burnley 

With all the teams around them having changed managers at some point in the campaign, Burnley have stuck with Scott Parker and the former England midfielder is desperately trying not to see the Clarets yo-yo back to the Championship again. 

However, the club has to start winning games. Somehow, they remain in touching distance to West Ham, but Parker's men haven't actually tasted victory since the beginning of October, and that only spells one outcome. 

They will take some heart from their last three outings, where they've salvaged a point against Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs, but even in January, it's not enough and they need to turn those performances into wins. 

Fixtures against West Ham and Crystal Palace over the next few weeks are must-win games for Parker because any other result and it could mean mission failed once again at Turf Moor. 

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West Ham 

When the Hammers became the first side to lose to Wolves at the start of the year, there looked to be no way back for the East London side, and Nuno Espirito Santo - even his job was on the line. 

Yet, it's amazing what a few positive results can bring. A win over Spurs brought confidence back, and they followed it up with another victory at home to Sunderland and suddenly everyone is looking up as the gap gets smaller and not feeling like they are getting cut adrift under the dotted line. 

West Ham are now five points off Nottingham Forest, and having strengthened their attack in the January window, will feel like there's enough time to drag one of those sides above them into the scrap and eventually get out of it themselves. 

If they are to do that, they have to get maximum points when they face Burnley and Wolves next month, and if they can take points off the rest, then don't count out Nuno's men just yet. 

Nottingham Forest 

Three managers in, and Forest still haven't been able to completely pull themselves away from danger and are still looking over their shoulder as we head into the 'business end' of 2025-26. 

A run of four back-to-back defeats over the winter period really halted Sean Dyche's early momentum as boss, but the latest Forest boss seems to be turning it around by getting his side to do exactly what a Dyche team does well. 

It isn't always pretty - and they are fans who are already on his back - but it gets results, as seen by recent wins over West Ham and Brentford, as well as the point earned against leaders Arsenal. 

The next two games present a real path for Forest to put some real breathing space between them and the bottom three, as they face Crystal Palace and Leeds in consecutive outings. 

Maximum points there could be huge for Dyche, as well as help drag the two opponents back into the relegation mire. 

Izzy Poles - AMA/Getty Images

Leeds 

With one defeat in their last ten, Leeds are one of the Premier League's in-form teams, and right now their trajectory seems to be in the way of going up the table rather than back in the fight at the bottom. 

The fact that they are still within six points of the dotted line tells you how much ground they've had to make up, as Daniel Farke at one point faced uncertainty around his post. 

However, they are now full of confidence and scoring goals. Even Dominic Calvert-Lewis is staying fit and looking as sharp as he has done in years. The aim now will be to keep the level up. 

They face games against the majority of the teams around them in the next few weeks and can't afford any complacency or allow the struggling sides to draw them back into the scrap, because right now, Leeds look like a safe bet. 

Stu Forster/Getty Images

Crystal Palace 

From one extreme to the other. Crystal Palace are in freefall right now. 

Without a win in their last eight games, dumped out of the FA Cup by sixth-tier Macclesfield and having seen their captain sold on the cheap before his contract runs out, it's been a bitter start to 2026, and that's without mentioning the ongoing saga with Oliver Glasner. 

The manager has already confirmed he won't be staying at the end of the season, leaving an uncertainty around the club that has already crept into their performances on the pitch. Palace feels like a fragile team at the wrong stage of the season, and with the departure of Jean Philippe Mateta also expected, the squad is also in desperate need of reinforcements. 

They have a buffer from the bottom three right now and time to turn things around, but it's hard to see them getting out of the fog that has ascended on Selhurst Park over the winter. 

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