The 2023-24 Premier League campaign might have been on hiatus due to the international break recently.
However, the relegation scrap still managed to take a dramatic turn despite no matches being played for a fortnight.
We are, of course, talking about the controversial sanctions imposed on Everton by the Premier League.
The top flight was rocked by the news that the Toffees had been deducted a whopping 10 points for breaches of the division’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
In terms of points-related punishments, it’s the severest penalty the Premier League have ever dished out — and the consensus amongst pundits and fans is that it’s incredibly harsh on the club.
The fallout is going stark, with people already questioning what it means for other clubs who have breached the rules.
But from a pure football perspective, it sees Everton become one of the favourites in the Premier League relegation odds.
The Toffees had done so well to steer clear of the bottom three after their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, picking up 10 points from a possible 15 before the international break.
However, all the hard Sean Dyche’s men did in that period has come undone and Everton find themselves level on points (4) with bottom-of-the-table Burnley at the time of writing.
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Merseyside out. The good news is that they are only two points behind 17th-placed Luton Town, so getting out of the bottom three might not be that hard of a task.
Everton have survived relegation by the skin of their teeth for the last two seasons, but they could get away with it due to the extremely low bar that the three newly promoted sides appear to be setting at this stage.
Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley went into the international break as the bottom three, and the gap between them and safety was only getting bigger thanks to Bournemouth winning two of their last three.
Despite being just a third of the way through the season, all three are odds-on to be sent back down through the trap door to the Championship.
Sheffield United are the likeliest to go down, according to the bookies.
The Blades didn’t have high hopes before the start of the season, but they have perhaps been worse than many would have expected and are 1/6 with some operators.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men did show a glimmer of hope before the break with a win and a draw, but there’s still some way to go if they want to get themselves to safety in May.
Luton have perhaps been the most surprising of the three newly promoted sides.
Some were suggesting that Rob Edwards’ men would struggle to beat Derby County’s lowest-ever points tally (11), but the Hatters are over almost there with nine points from two winsand three draws.
That’s enough for them to currently be outside the relegation zone, and they are three behind Bournemouth in a spot above them.
The Hatters are likely to be relegated, but it would be no surprise and they are arguably prepared for it with their summer signings.
That leaves just Burnley. Vincent Kompany’s men were expected to come up and make their presence felt in the Premier League after winning the Championship in good style last year.
However, the Clarets have been very disappointing and are rock bottom of the table.
Even after five defeats on the trot before the break, Burnley are still less favoured for relegation than Sheffield United and Luton, but the deficit is only getting wider and their job is getting harder.
It would be no surprise at this stage if Luton, the Blades and Burnley were the three to be relegated.
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