Premier League relegation battle: What needs to happen for Brighton to seal safety at Southampton

Brighton are five points clear of the Premier League drop zone ahead of tonight's clash at Southampton but nobody is taking anything for granted just yet
Brighton defender Adam Webster insists the players 'are not on holiday' and must work hard to secure their Premier League statusBrighton defender Adam Webster insists the players 'are not on holiday' and must work hard to secure their Premier League status
Brighton defender Adam Webster insists the players 'are not on holiday' and must work hard to secure their Premier League status

Victory for Albion against the Saints could see them secure their top flight status but defeat and wins elsewhere will bring a nerve-jangling end to the season.

Relegation rivals Aston Villa play Everton tonight and their match will finish just before Graham Potter's men kick-off at St Mary's.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Should Albion win and Villa drop points, Brighton will be eight points clear and safe ahead of their final two fixtures against Newcastle (home) and away at Burnley.

Victory for Villa and a draw or worse for Albion would see them looking nervously over their shoulders with West Ham and Watford - who are also in the thick of the relegation battle - facing off tomorrow.

Bournemouth's 2-1 loss at City last night keeps them in deep trouble as they are third bottom and three points behind West Ham and Watford having played one match more.

Brighton 36 points; remaining fixtures: Southampton (a), Newcastle (h), Burnley (a)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

West Ham 34 points; remaining fixtures: Watford (h), Man United (a), Aston Villa (h)

Watford 34 points; remaining fixtures: West Ham (a), Man City (h), Arsenal (a)

Bournemouth 31 points; remaining fixtures: Southampton (h), Everton (a)

Aston Villa 30 points; remaining fixtures: Everton (a), Arsenal (h), West Ham (a)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Norwich 21 points relegated; remaining fixtures: Burnley (h), Chelsea (a)

Three points from Southampton would be huge for Brighton and their defender Adam Webster insists that's all the incentive they need.

“We’ve got three games left, but we’ve got to concentrate on Southampton first,” said Webster.

“If we could win, it will all but confirm that we will be playing Premier League football next year so there’s a big incentive for us.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But it’s not done yet and we know that as players and as a club. We’re by no means on holiday and we will be working hard to get that win on Thursday to give us that bit more breathing space.”

Webster added, “Since the restart Southampton have kicked on – they’ve had some good results.

"They beat Manchester City and, having played them ourselves, we know how tough it’s going to be.

“They got a point against United as well, so they look in much better shape.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"At the start of the season and just before Christmas they were struggling a bit but they have really picked up and they look a really dangerous side. We will have to be right at the top of our game to get a result.”

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.