Fulham and Cardiff City Relegated As Sunderland One Step Away From Safety

Sunderland’s win against Manchester United at Old Trafford coupled with heavy defeats for Fulham against Stoke (1-4) and Cardiff against Newcastle (0-3) means that both Fulham and Cardiff were relegated today, while Sunderland are just one step away from safety.

After Sunderland’s impressive 1-0 victory against Manchester United, Sunderland will be guaranteed safety if Chelsea beat Norwich tomorrow. Norwich City currently sit third from bottom with 32 points, while Sunderland sit fourth from bottom with 35 points. Norwich currently has a -13 worse goal difference than Sunderland, so it’s practically impossible for the Canaries to close that gap unless goal difference doesn’t come in to play, which means a draw or a win against Chelsea would be necessary. And then depending on what happens on the final day of the season, a satisfactory result for Norwich against Arsenal would be essential.

Fulham are relegated after 13 years in the Premier League. The club, who were nicknamed by fans Fulhamerica for years after signing several American players, will be missed. The club has one of the oldest and most historic football grounds in the Premier League. Plus, the club had an impressive run of form for a number of years including playing in the UEFA Europa League final.

Cardiff City, meanwhile, have suffered from a string of poor decisions. The club were fifth from bottom when the ownership decided to sack manager Malky Mackay in late December. Since then, the club has plummeted to bottom of the Premier League under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Norwich City look most likely to join Cardiff and Fulham in being relegated to the Premier League. Even if Norwich does the seemingly impossible and wins Sunday against Chelsea, the Canaries play Arsenal on the final day of the season while Sunderland plays Swansea, who are already guaranteed safety and have nothing left to play for.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Leicester City on winning the Championship trophy today, while QPR, Wigan, Brighton and Derby will play in the Championship playoffs to see who will be joining Leicester and Burnley in the Premier League next season.