EPL review: Fulham win under new boss, and are West Ham in the relegation debate?

After an international break that saw Germany get relegated and echoes of “It’s Coming Home” arise from the dead, the Premier League is back, and the fight for survival took an interesting twist this weekend.

Free falling Fulham finally secured their first win in what seems like an eternity under new manager and English football’s favourite granddad, Claudio Ranieri. It came against fellow league strugglers Southampton, who could be the next club to sack their manager with unrest between fans and Mark Hughes continues to worsen.

The dramatic 3-2 win for the Cottagers saw them climb off the bottom of the table to 19^th place for a whole 24 hours. It’s the little things okay, and with just four points separating last to 13^th in the Premier League, every point between now and the end of the season is vital for the seven teams looking for top-flight survival.

Pellegrini hammered by former team

One team who looks safe for now but could end up joining the relegation debate is West Ham, who took a 4-0 battering against Premier League leaders and pending champions Manchester City, AKA the team current Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini won a league title with not too long ago.

Although the Chilean took positives from the defeat, it showed signs that West Ham with the right tactics can be torn apart with ease. Had it not been for the heroics of Lukasz Fabianski yet again, the scoreline could have ended up in double digits for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The result might have seen inevitable given how good the Citizens have been this season, but the outcome of the game will shake up morale in the West Ham camp. And with the festive period of football fast approaching, now is certainly not the time to start messing up games.

Terriers claim vital win against Wolves

One of the more surprising results of the weekend was Huddersfield Town’s 2-0 win away from home to newly promoted side Wolverhampton Wanderers. David Wagner’s side has been, to put it lightly, absolutely terrible this season, which is what makes this result even more surprising.

Wolves have been the best side to come up from the Championship this season. They have held their own against some of the best teams in the league such as both Manchester sides and Arsenal, three games the Midlands-based side all drew, but that 1-1 draw against the Gunners last week has been their only point in their last five games.

Newcastle make it three in a row

At the start of the season, Newcastle United was tipped to go down to the Championship after a lacklustre transfer window. The most hated man on Tyneside Mike Ashley refused to allow manager Rafa Benitez to spend any significant amount of cash on new players, and results have reflected this mentality from the chairman. But things are starting to look up.

The Toon made it three wins in three with a big 2-1 win against Burnley, who they themselves have also found their fortunes this season going terribly wrong after they finished 7^th in the table last season. The Clarets now sit 17^th in the league.

This weekend’s results have not only spiced up the race for the title, but also the fight for survival at the bottom end of the Premier League.

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