Relegation Watch: Rotherham Thrashed And Birmingham Dragged In

Relegation Watch has a new addition this week, as Birmingham City now find themselves with an outside chance of going down after they received a nine points deduction from the EFL for breaching profitability and sustainability rules.

The Blues were one of three teams in the bottom seven to lose at the weekend, whilst there were vital wins for both Reading and Bolton, which you can read about below.

All odds are courtesy of SkyBet, and please gamble responsibility if you do fancy a flutter on which teams will go down (Judas betting or otherwise!).

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18th - Birmingham City (41 points / +3 GD)

• Relegation odds: 16/1
• Latest result: West Bromwich Albion 3-2 Birmingham City
• Next game: Leeds United (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 14th

Whilst Birmingham will likely be safe from relegation due to the quality of their squad that had got them to 13th in the table before their points deduction, it’s hard to ignore their position and points tally at present. Furthermore, all of the Blues’ remaining opponents still have something to play for, whether that be at the top or bottom of the table, starting with Leeds United on Saturday and ending with Reading on the final day.

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19th - Reading (40 points / -15 GD)

• Relegation odds: 6/1 (better than last week)
• Latest result: Reading 2-1 Preston North End
• Next game: Hull City (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 9th

Preston arrived at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday having won their last six away games and on a 12 game unbeaten run, but Reading put them to the sword and were more comfortable victors than the 2-1 scoreline suggests. It proved that it will likely be the Royals’ home games that will be vital in their survival push, so a tough game at play-off chasing Hull is expected next weekend.

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20th - Wigan Athletic (40 points / -16 GD)

• Relegation odds: 8/1 (better than last week)
• Latest result: Wigan Athletic 0-0 Brentford
• Next game: Bristol City (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

It was an interesting weekend for Wigan, as they moved a point further away from the relegation zone, but still dropped a place to 20th as Reading leapfrogged them. The Latics picked up their first clean sheet in five games with a 0-0 draw against Brentford, and went close to winning it late on but Anthony Pilkington’s effort was ruled offside and Chey Dunkley hit the woodwork.

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21st - Millwall (37 points / -15 GD)

One game in hand over other teams

Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

• Relegation odds: 6/1 (better than last week)
• Latest result: Leeds United 3-2 Millwall
• Next game: West Bromwich Albion (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

Millwall twice took the lead against promotion chasing Leeds at the weekend, but ultimately left Elland Road empty handed after Pablo Hernandez’s late goal. You could suggest that they’ll be happy to get back to home comforts on Saturday, but Neil Harris’ side are still yet to win at The Den in the league in 2019, whilst a West Brom side on a run of three straight victories will provide tricky opposition.

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22nd - Rotherham United (36 points / -26 GD)

• Relegation odds: 4/9 (better than last week)
• Latest result: Derby County 6-1 Rotherham United
• Next game: Nottingham Forest (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

It was a nightmare weekend for Rotherham as they suffered their biggest defeat of the season at Derby, made worse by Jon Taylor and Jerry Yates squaring up to each other on the field. The 6-1 thrashing will not only damage their confidence, but it also means their goal difference has taken a hit and is now considerably worse than the teams above them. One positive though is that the Millers remain just a point from safety ahead of Nottingham Forest’s visit to the New York Stadium on Saturday.

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23rd - Bolton Wanderers (32 points / -36 GD)

• Relegation odds: 1/33 (better than last week)
• Latest result: QPR 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
• Next game: Ipswich Town (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 12th

A massively important win at QPR at the weekend has cut the gap between Bolton and safety to five points, and they have another big opportunity to claim a victory in their next game, as they host the only team worse than them this season, Ipswich. Their efforts are not being helped by unpaid staff salaries though, which has led to players striking for 48 hours this week, whilst the club are due back in court on Wednesday over a £1.2 million unpaid tax bill.

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24th - Ipswich Town (24 points / -34 GD)

• Relegation odds: SkyBet don’t actually offer odds on Ipswich going down as they really are that bad
• Latest result: Ipswich Town 0-2 Hull
• Next game: Bolton Wanderers (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 12th

Kamil Grosicki’s brace for Hull saw Ipswich fall to their first defeat in four games at the weekend, but the Tractor Boys had more possession and shots than the Tigers, showing how they’re continuing to fight despite being all but down. Paul Lambert’s side remain 13 points adrift of safety, and could see relegation confirmed if they lose their next two games and other results go against them.