A look at how this weeks Premier League fixtures impact upon Saints both above them and below them.

Literally every game played on Saturday has interest to Saints fans in the premier league this weekend, be it beneth them in the relegation battle or directly above them in the race to finish in the top ten, however as usual we shall start from the bottom up in this weekends fixture list.

Bottom club Reading travel to Norwich in a game that they need to get something out of, or they like QPR could find themselves officially relegated when the final game of the weekend is played on Monday, the Royals, like their fellow Hooped warriors QPR play a club just behind Saints in the Premier league, Rangers hosting Stoke City, given how tight it is down there, Saints supporters will be hoping that the Hoops triumph in both games, it will give both clubs hope, although probably only a brief stay of execution, however from a Saints perspective anything other than Stoke or Norwich wins will be acceptable as it will keep both clubs firmly behind us by a distance even if we fail to win at Swansea.

Wigan play at West Ham, this is a mixed bag at time of writing and how we would like this game to finish depends entirely on how we ourselves have fared at Swansea, if we beat the Welsh club then a Wigan win would be preferable as it would enable us to leapfrog the Hammers again as would indeed a draw, however should we lose at Swansea then there is only one result that we want and that is a Wigan defeat to keep them seven points behind us.

Aston Villa dont play till Monday night and then they face the tricky trip to Old Trafford in the televised game, only one result we Saints fans want and that is a crushing defeat for the Midlands club to keep them right down there and nowhere near us, this could be the game where United win the title if Manchester City have been beaten at Spurs the previous day, so they have all to play for.

Another biggie is Sunderland V Everton, the Mackems know that a victory here will go a big way towards safety, especially if Wigan have lost and illa do on Monday, they have all to play for although from our view we would want Everton to burst their bubble.

West Brom take on Newcastle, again all we want here is a Baggies win, they are too far ahead to catch and with Newcastle starting the day only two points behind us, we want to keep them down there.

The last Saturday game is Fulham hosting Arsenal, again only one winner needed from a Saints point of view, we start the day only two points behind them so a big defeat to the Gunners could see us jump above them.

The Sunday pair of fixtures are irrelevant to us, the aforementioned Spurs V Man City and Liverpool V Chelsea.

So another big weekend for Saints, a good win at Swansea and other results in our favour, could see us in tenth place and ten points clear of the drop zone, but a word of caution, things could go completely the other way, a defeat at the Liberty stadium and results mainly going the way of the formbook, could see us only four points off the drop zone and with all the clubs currently behind us being within a point or less of us, not to mention Wigan in that 3rd relegation spot although four points away having a game in hand.

Make no bones about it, this is one of the most closely fought relegation battles for many years for that final relegation spot and there is a long way to go yet for as many as perhaps eight clubs who could still go down with the virtually doomed QPR & Reading, we need to pull ourselves out of that group and fast.           

Photo: Action Images

tiptop added 10:23 - Apr 19 Can see West Ham beating Wigan. Sunderland and Everton drawing West Brom beating Newcastle and wouldn't be suprised if Villa get a win at Man Utd! Saints could sneak a win if we are at it. The Swans are trying to turn the corner of 3 defeats on the bounce and managed a draw last time against Norwich.
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slynch added 10:46 - Apr 19 I thought the Swans were the worst team I'd seen at St Mary's this season. To be fair I think they may have had a few out that day. None-the-less, Saints' new found steel should clip their wings. LOADSAMONEY NEW CONTRACT Clyne, Hooi, Yosh, Shaw Spider, Cork Punch Ram/Lala JROD Lambo Michu won't get the ball past Spider and Cork. Should trash 'em 0-3.
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redblooded added 10:48 - Apr 19 Ifs, buts and maybes, the season is in our hands, we have four points and a better goal difference, that is an aweful lot for teams to make up in only five games. They are not at the bottom because of their good form or run of winning games. Another 1 or 2 points will guarantee our survival, I think though that rightfully we are looking up not down, we do have good form and are on a good run. Top ten is a definite maybe!

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