Last season’s relegation battle was full of high drama on the final day as QPR gave City a real scare before Roberto Mancini’s Blues found a way to win the game and claim the Premier League for the first time.

City became the fifth club to have won the title since leagues were reorganised in 1992 – Manchester United, Arsenal, Blackburn and Chelsea are the others – but QPR still survived as Bolton could only draw at Stoke City.

The Trotters were joined by Blackburn Rovers and Wolves in dropping out of the top flight as all three promoted sides – Rangers, Norwich and Swansea – managed to survive.

New for 2012-13 are Southampton, Reading and West Ham, with the Hammers going up via the play-offs and, at 2/1, the shortest price of the trio to suffer relegation.

Saints are currently 5/4 shots while the Royals, who have secured new investment, are priced at 11/10 for the drop.

While it is no surprise to see Southampton and Reading the favourites for relegation, there must also be concern for a few of the Premier League clubs – some more established than others – with Wigan as short as 3/2.

Latics have flirted with the dreaded drop for years now but always seem to put a slow start behind them before powering away to safety once the weather starts to warm up again.

History suggests their luck will eventually run out one day and that time could well be nigh.

Saints have done what Norwich (13/8) did and come straight up from League One via the Championship in consecutive seasons and in Nigel Adkins they have a manager who can follow the Canaries’ blueprint.

However, the side from Norfolk paid the price for their success when boss Paul Lambert was tempted away to Aston Villa, who flirted with the drop themselves last term.

Norwich have turned to Chris Hughton and he represents a safe pair of hands for the Carrow Road faithful, with Villa’s relative lack of investment over the last couple of seasons meaning they are likely to be nearer the bottom three than the top four.

Swansea (2/1) are also in the same boat as Norwich and must hope Michael Laudrup hits the ground running given the fact the Danish legend never played in England during an illustrious playing career which took in the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

QPR are 9/2 for the drop but it must be remembered  they were tipped to stay up this time last year and only managed it by the skin of their teeth.

However, Mark Hughes has had more time to strengthen than Neil Warnock got last season given the timing of the Tony Fernandes takeover, and the Welshman has significantly made sure the spine of QPR’s team is now ready for more than just a survival battle.

IN DANGER: Southampton, Reading, Swansea, Wigan and Norwich.

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Sevilla (2.20) are one of several sides looking to clinch the final Champions League qualifying position and they get this round of fixtures underway when the travel to lowly Malaga (3.10) in the tea-time kick off on Saturday.

Alvarez Will Give Sevilla A Tremendous Boost

Sevilla have endured some torrid form of late which ultimately led to the recent sacking of coach Manolo Jimenez. His replacement, Antonio Alvarez, recorded his first win as new manager at home to Tenerife last week and the Sevilla fans will be hoping the ‘new manager effect’ continues for a few more matches.

Malaga are six points clear of the relegation zone but are by no means safe from the threat of going down and will be just as desperate for the three points as their opponents. But with only one win out of their last five games Malaga are not going into this match full of confidence.

Sevilla top scorer Luis Fabiano is getting himself back to full fitness after being dogged by injuries this season, the Brazilian striker will be looking to get his name on the score sheet and is 5.50 to score the first goal.

The previous meeting between these two sides this season ended in a 2-2 draw, with Sevilla thankful to a Luis Fabiano brace for salvaging a point after going two goals down. It is a result Malaga would probably be happy to take before the kick off, but certainly wouldn’t satisfy Sevilla and their new coach. Back Sevilla to flex their muscle in the race for a Champions League spot with a 2-0 win available at 9.00 with PartyBets.com.

Related posts:

1. The Race for La Liga Fourth Spot Intensifies
2. La Liga Predictions: Real Madrid Will Be Too Strong For Sevilla
3. Are Sevilla about to end 14 year Real Valladolid Jinx

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