The stretch run of the Premier League season is shaping up to be a fascinating one in the bottom half of the table. Only eight points separate the bottom seven teams.
For much of the first half of the season, the relegation battle was clear. There were three really bad teams in Hull City, Swansea City and Sunderland. Floating just above them were a couple of mediocre teams that probably should have been better (Crystal Palace and Leicester City), and then Middlesbrough, a team with a good defense and no attack to speak of, seeming to hit their target of being good enough to finish ahead of the bad teams.