Ifs, Buts and Maybes

Today brings us to the penultimate match in the Premier League for this season, and my beloved Bolton Wanderers are still not a safe bet for playing in the Prem next season!

We play Sunderland at home today and we have to win! We don't have a choice in this, anything less than a win today will probably consign us to the dustbin of relegation next weekend. Also playing today are our fellow candidates for relegation, Fulham, Birmingham and Reading. Middlesboro are also in with an outside chance of relegation, but would have to snatch failure from the jaws of success to achieve it. Unfortunately, Fulham Birmingham and Reading don't have to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next week - Bolton do!

If we beat Sunderland today we will have 36 points - realistically that is going to be our total for the season. But, if Man United beat West Ham at Old Trafford today and Chelsea go down against Newcastle at St James's Park on Monday then Chelsea would, in reality, have no chance of clinching the league title and might not play to their absolute best against us next week - that last sentence falls into the category of "Clutching At Straws".

So what do I want? Well, Fulham play Birmingham at home today - maybe that will be a draw giving them both 1 point, Fulham will go up to 31 and Birmingham go up to 33. Bolton to beat Sunderland for 36 points as I said. Reading to lose at home to Tottenham (not impossible but not guaranteed either) and Middlesboro to slip up at home to Portsmouth would leave the table looking like this:

15 Bolton 36 points
16 Middlesboro 36 points
17 Birmingham 33 points
18 Reading 33 points
19 Fulham 31 points
20 Derby 11 points

Derby are already relegated so I haven't mentioned their game.

But with a likely zero points next week for the Wanderers, we still won't be safe. In the last match of the season Birmingham are at home to Blackburn, Fulham are away to Portsmouth, Middlesboro are at home to Man City, Reading are away to Derby, so as I said at the start - we have to win today - we don't have a choice if we want Premier Leage football at the Reebok next year.