Nottingham Forest and Tottenham have both hired new managers as they fear being dragged into the Premier League relegation zone as West Ham find their feet under Nuno Espirito Santo
With 12 Premier League game weeks remaining, the relegation battle has entered a new phase with new managers, personal vendettas and panicking owners turning up the tension.
West Ham's improved form has thrown a cat amongst the pigeons and turned what had threatened to be a foregone conclusion of a relegation battle into a proper scrap. Now just three points separate the upwardly mobile Hammers, in the drop zone, and Nottingham Forest in 17th, while Tottenham are also feeling the heat after a miserable run that cost Thomas Frank his job.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis pulled the trigger on another manager, firing Sean Dyche before making Vitor Pereira his fourth boss of the 2025/26 season, following Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou. The fact that Pereira started the campaign at Wolves and Nuno is now masterminding West Ham's attempted great escape only makes for a richer narrative.
Burnley are the only side in the Premier League's bottom five not to have sacked a manager this season, with Scott Parker hanging on by a thread after losing to League One Mansfield in the FA Cup. A 3-2 win over Crystal Palace last week was huge for Parker's job security, yet the Clarets still look more than likely to be following Wolves down to the Championship.
There is still the possibility that another side could plummet down the table, too, with the dreadful form of Crystal Palace and Brighton not to be dismissed. Palace sit 13th on 32 points but are in free fall since Oliver Glasner announced his exit in the summer, while Fabian Hurzeler is under pressure with Brighton a place and a point worse off. Leeds are 15th on 30 points and yet feel the most stable of the lot, having stuck by Daniel Farke.
Here Mirror Football takes a look at the Premier League relegation picture involving the bottom five sides, recapping the managerial movement, January signings and recent form to assesses each team's chances of beating the drop.
Wolves are doomed. With one solitary win from 26 games, their first target is to eclipse the miserable performance from Southampton last season (two wins, 12 points). Then it is about preparing for life in the Championship in 2026/27.
The hierarchy appear to have already taken steps in that direction, signing Adam Armstrong from Southampton in January, while they already have Rob Edwards at the helm. Both are proven in the Championship and proven strugglers in the Premier League.
Wolves have kept successive clean sheets, to hint that their porous defence may be marginally less leaky. But 16 goals scored is nine fewer than the next worst side Forest, who they drew 0-0 with last time out, so we're talking baby steps here.
Back to back defeats without scoring against Sunderland and West Ham appeared as though it could spell the end of Parker's time in charge. But a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Palace last week bought him some more time... until they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Mansfield a few days later and the boos returned.
It's pretty miserable at Turf Moor right now - and that's not just down to Parker. Chairman Alan Pace has annoyed fans by dismissing their concerns as coming from those who "just play this game on a computer somewhere" and have tantrums. He then had to use the programme on Saturday to apologise. Relegation beckons.
The Hammers have been given genuine hope of climbing out of the drop zone through an upturn in form and performances. Three wins and a draw in their last five league games has provided some timely hope after the squad was refreshed in the January transfer window.
The arrivals of attackers Taty Castellanos and Pablo, as well as Nuno favourite Adama Traore and defender Axel Disasi, has challenged those who accused the club of panic-buying. But it is the red-hot form of Crysencio Summerville which has really made a difference, the winger scoring six goals in the past seven games to destroy the over-reliance on Jarrod Bowen.
They have started to reel in the clubs above and a rarely-seen positive atmosphere is building at the London Stadium.
Chaos reigns supreme on the banks of the River Trent. Marinakis is onto his fourth manager of the season after turning to former Wolves boss Pereira after sacking Dyche last week.
"I cannot change a lot in this moment of the season," Pereira said in his first press conference on Tuesday, slightly worryingly. "It's about to put the players comfortable playing in the roles I'm demanding. It's important he players feel they can help the team with their qualities. It's important they express themselves."
Express themselves AND win some points, ideally. Unlike those below them, Forest are playing in Europe, where they face Fenerbahce in a two-legged Europa League play-off, and that has quickly turned from an exciting adventure into a distraction, with two wins in the last 10 league games dragging them down.
They couldn't, could they? Spurs finished 17th last season under Postecoglou but surely didn't think they'd be stuck in a similar position this season after appointing Frank in the summer. The Dane has gone and Tudor is in, a few months after being sacked by Juventus.
Like Forest, they also have to contend with European football, but don't need a play-off after finishing fourth in the Champions League group stage. That is even more miraculous when you consider they are winless in their last eight Premier League games and have won just two from their last 17 in all competitions.
"The team needs, I believe, first of all to get some confidence, to get some courage, but also in the same way, the concrete things in the pitch," Tudor said on Tuesday. "Of course, I'm coming here knowing the situation is not easy, there's no time to find excuses."
Tudor need a result or two to ease the nerves and what better way to start than against Arsenal in the North London Derby on Sunday?