If, like me, you spent last Saturday afternoon in front of Jeff Stelling and his mates watching the Premiership matches develop, you would have enjoyed the latest instalment of an utterly enthralling relegation battle as Newcastle became the latest side to throw away a position of superiority, and set up a further afternoon of drama and intrigue this coming Sunday. Will Villa suddenly find winning form to relegate Newcastle? WIll Man.U. put a reserve side out and still beat Hull? Will Middlesbrough ever score another goal? Will Sunderland get overtaken by everybody on the finishing line? I can't wait.

So, the most protracted suicide attempt in history looks to be nearing total success as Hull have finally managed to work their way into the relegation zone for the first time this season. With a final day match against Man.United, they have just one more realistic chance to gain another three points, but with Newcastle having gained a vital confidence boost with Monday night's victory, would even that be enough?

So, not much sign of any fighting spirit in the battle to avoid relegation as the sides who currently find themsleves forming the bottom eight of the Premiership managed to gain no points between them whatsoever over the weekend, and it is now looking more and more likely that an embarrassingly low number of points could be required to survive this season. There are a couple of key fixtures at the bottom taking place this coming weekend, but we start with two sides whose safety could well be confirmed after this round of matches: