After 37 intense, entertaining, shocking, and at times controversial rounds of Premier League action, the day fans have eagerly anticipated - and perhaps even dreaded - has finally arrived.
On Sunday, English football followers around the world will be in for a treat as all 20 teams in the top flight will take to the pitch in what surely will be a great Super Sunday of matches to conclude the 2014/2015 campaign. Unlike in past editions, this time around, the title has been already decided, with Chelsea lifting the league trophy for the first time in five seasons.
Meanwhile, the Champions League spots have also been solidified, with last season's runners-up Manchester City guaranteed another shot at trying their fortunes in the continent's premier competition. The Citizens' cross-town rivals Manchester United will again make a return to the tournament after shockingly missing out, and Arsenal completes this quartet, meaning that England will be represented by two London and two Manchester based clubs for the 2015/2016 edition.
If Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City fans are celebrating, there is disappointment for QPR and Burnley, who valiantly attempted to avoid the drop to the Championship, but lost their battle in the end. With one relegation spot left, it will be a tense Sunday afternoon for supporters of Hull City and Newcastle United, as both teams know that a loss will effectively condemn them to second-tier English football for next season.
Battle to avoid the drop: Although Newcastle are a bit better off than Hull, a loss for the Magpies could see them relegated to the Championship next season
So, which team will be safe and which will suffer disappointment? We take a look.
Newcastle United: A string of bad results that could spell their doom
Shockingly for Newcastle fans, their team really should not have been in this situation in the first place. Despite a managerial merry-go-round that has seen three different faces - Alan Pardew, John Carver, Steve Stone and then Carver again - assume tactical duties, at one point, the Magpies were as high as fifth in the league table. Whilst this only lasted for one round, they nonetheless, after a horrible start, spent the majority of this season comfortably in the mid-table range and looked quite safe to feature again in the Premier League next campaign.
That is, until a shockingly sequence of events following their 1-0 win over Aston Villa on February 28th. Newcastle would go on to lose eight straight league matches, plummeting them down the table from a comfortable 11th to a disconcerting 15th place. And despite salvaging a draw against West Brom on May 9th, a disappointing 2-1 reversal to an already-relegated QPR the following week would effectively put them in the dangerous position of joining them and Burnley in the second-tier next season.
What went wrong? Newcastle's season implosion has seen them shockingly facing a possible relegation for next season
Statistically, Newcastle have fared decently against upcoming opponents West Ham, although they lost the reverse fixture earlier this season. The last time the Hammers defeated them at St. James' Park was on November 11, 2012 but their most recent meeting ended as a dull, scoreless stalemate. In fact, one would have to go back to January 5, 2011 to note when the hosts were able to earn all three points in a 5-0 thrashing during the 2010/2011 season.
Yet, as they prepare to take on West Ham, Newcastle fans will surely be quite nervous, knowing that the two point advantage over Hull gives them a false sense of security. One point earned in their last ten games certainly will not leave supporters feeling confident in their squad, either. A loss to the Hammers will not doom them and neither would a draw, provided that the relegation-threatened Tigers do not manage to pull off some kind of upset against the Red Devils.
Which bring us to our next point: For Hull City, it's win-or-go-down. And a closer look at how the Tigers have fared against the Red Devils will have the most devoted supporter hoping and praying for a small miracle this Sunday.
Hull City: The house appears to be stacked against the Tigers...but can they bet against it and win?
Unfortunately for Steve Bruce's side, who shocked Premier League fans by making it all the way to the FA Cup finals and battled valiantly to stay afloat with a 16th-placed finish, their good fortune appears to have deserted them. For large spells of this campaign, the Tigers, who got their first taste of European football after featuring in the Europa League play-off and qualifying rounds, have been mired in the relegation sports, seeing a win here and there followed by a string of disappointing losses.
And to make matters worse, when many teams are able to turn things around in the final month of the season, the same does not appear to be the case for Hull City. Historically, indeed, May has not been a kind month for the Tigers:
If Hull are to stay up they will have to win their first ever Premier League match in May...against Man United #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/pLWCNtwjxw
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) May 17, 2015
And Manchester United is the last team that they would want to face at this juncture. Here is a highly discouraging and unfortunate stat fans will worry about: in their seven prior meetings, the Tigers have never beaten the Red Devils. In fact, they have never even been able to salvage a solitary draw and have been outscored by a total of 21 goals to seven.
The closest they ever came to securing what would have been a historic draw was on December 26, 2013, when the match was tied 2-2 at half-time, only to see James Chester score an own goal in the 66th minute.
Daunting: Hull City will have to secure a historic win over Manchester United to even have a chance to avoid the drop
To further complicate things, even a win will not suffice. Bruce's side will need West Ham to do them a huge favour and prevent Newcastle from earning all three points with at most a draw, but, naturally, preferably a loss.
Should Newcastle draw and Hull City win, due to the Magpies' vastly inferior goal difference, it will be Hull to survive for yet another season. Indeed, just like in past seasons, this looks set to be yet another interesting final round of Premier League action as at the end of 90 minutes, one team will be breathing a sigh of relief whilst another will be suffering disappointment at the prospect of featuring in the Championship for their upcoming campaign.
Who will it be?
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