It all comes down to today to decide who stays in the Premier League and who goes down. There are four clubs with a chance of being among the other two relegated along with West Bromwich.
Here’s what happens to get each side relegated:
MIDDLESBROUGH (any of the following scenarios)
- loss
- draw
- win + Hull point
- win + Newcastle point
- win + Newcastle loss + Hull loss + Hull wins goal difference
NEWCASTLE
- loss
- draw + Hull point
- win + Hull win + Sunderland win
HULL CITY
- draw + Newcastle win
- loss + Newcastle point
- loss + Newcastle loss + Middlesbrough win + Middlesbrough wins goal difference
SUNDERLAND
- draw + Hull win + Newcastle win
- loss + Hull win + Newcastle win
Middlesbrough is essentially gone, so I’ll be focused on three matches which determine these clubs future in the EPL. It’s important to note that none of the opponents in these games have anything to play for (the top of the table is set). Here goes, I’m settling in for a nail-biting Sunday
SUNDERLAND 
V. 
CHELSEA
NEWCASTLE 
V. 
ASTON VILLA
HULL CITY 
V
. 
MANCHESTER UNITED
———-
I’ve got Sunderland-Chelsea on the computer and through the first ten minutes it certainly hasn’t looked like Sunderland is going to run over Chelsea or anything. Hull City seems to be getting some chances (based on the play-by-play online) but both the other matches are 0-0 at 10 minutes.
———-
0 – 1
Manchester United scores first. Sunderland-Chelsea continues to plod along a bit, but they are still there with Newcastle-Aston Villa at 0-0 25 minutes in.
———-
0 – 1
Everywhere other than at home it seems to be going the way Sunderland needs. Aston Villa scores in the 38th minute, so Sunderland-Chelsea is the only match of the three that remains scoreless.
———–
Halftime for all the games –
0 – 0
0 – 1
0 – 1
Middlesbrough is losing as well, so it looks like they are dropped. If these results stand it will be Newcastle and Middlesbrough that spend next season outside the Premier league.
———–
Anelka drills a goal for Chelsea right at the start of the second half – and all of a sudden it’s looking not quite as good for the Sunderland side. Beautiful goal and by a great player (Anelka leads the EPL in scoring) – to bad it had to come there.
0 – 1
———–
Beautiful cross by Leadbitter and Sunderland responds immediately in the 53rd minute. Kieran Richardson with the goal that is well appreciated by the home crowd.
1 – 1
———–
OK, so here’s the thing. A draw is the same as a loss to Sunderland as far as relegation goes. Evening the score makes it that much easier to possibly sneak in a winner in the end. So far the Black Cats are four goals (2 by Newcastle and 2 by Hull City) away from relegation, so things are looking good.
———–
Not looking quite as good now. Chelsea scores again. We’re closing in on the end of the matches, hopefully nothing too crazy happens in the final minutes of the other matches.
1 – 2
————
Now it seems like the Cats are completely dependent on the other results. Still no change as Newcastle and Hull City trail 1-0 in minute 85.
1 – 3
———–
Kenwyne Jones gets a very late goal, and we’ve got three finals. Sunderland will survive this season. Hull City survives as Middlesbrough suffers defeat. That means the relegated teams are Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and West Bromwich.
2 – 3
0 – 1
0 – 1
The good news is that Sunderland fans can make fun of Newcastle fans for a solid year. I’m sure they’ll be back after next year, but until then hopefully the Black Cats can improve a bit so that this weekend isn’t anywhere near as exciting as it was this year.
Daneeka's Ghost 
I watched much of the Hull-Man U match. Even playing the kids, Man U outclassed Hull, but it was still an entertaining match. It was cool hearing how jazzed the crowd got when Aston Villa scored, and how dizzy everyone was after the match that Hull had escaped relegation.
Too bad we couldn’t apply that idea to American sports leagues. I’d love to see a bunch of NBA, NFL and MLB clubs relegated….
It really provides some drama at the end of the season for teams that would otherwise be playing out the string.
The only problem I have with it is the relegation system leads to the crazy transfer rules. If an MLB team got relegated, who comes up to take their place? AAA teams would seem obvious, but what if the parent club has injuries or underperformance? Can they recall a player from another team that’s now in the same league?
This year was great. Last year, Fulham was fighting relegation all year. Now they’re 7th in the table and playing in the UEFA, er, Europa Cup.
I’m kind of angry that Sunderland and Keane parted ways, because it seemed like they were on that trajectory (they were actually sniffing the top half of the table at the season’s midpoint). Hopefully with another year in the top league they can make some strides.