The best Premier League teams to be relegated as West Ham and Spurs battle for survival | OneFootball

The battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League is heating up, with West Ham's recent upturn tightening things at the bottom of the table.

After successive seasons in which all three promoted teams went down, this season has been a refreshing change with Sunderland and Leeds currently clear of trouble.

Incredibly, we have a situation whereEuropa League holders Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, Conference League winners in 2023, are among the teams battling for survival.

If either were to drop out of the top flight, they'd join this list of the best teams to ever be relegated from thePremier League.

Middlesbrough (1996/97)

Just how did thisMiddlesbrough team go down? Few teams drop out of the Premier League while in possession of the Player of the Season and a 31-goal striker, but that's exactly what happened to Boro in 1996-97.

Fabrizio Ravanelli'sdebut hat-trick against Liverpool saw the season start with promise, but Bryan Robson's team were unable to find consistent league results.

Boro reached both domestic cup finals but were relegated from thePremier League in 19th place, following a three-point deduction for postponing a fixture against Blackburn Rovers in December.

Despite their dreadful league campaign, Juninho was namedPremier League Player of the Season for his efforts in attempting to keep the club up.

West Ham (2002/2003)

West Ham were relegated after a drastic decline in 2002-03, having finished seventh in the Premier League the previous season.

A talented team featuring Frederic Kanoute and Paulo Di Canio, alongside England internationals Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Trevor Sinclair, David James and Lee Bowyer, started terribly to sit bottom of the table at Christmas.

A second-half surge was not enough to save them, asWest Ham went down with 42 points - a record for the team relegated with the most points in the 20-team era.

Leeds United (2003/04)

Leeds United's financial meltdown is one of the tales of the Premier League era.

The club's reckless ambition ultimately came back to haunt them, as spiralling debts saw Elland Road's top talent sold. Leeds had played in a Champions League semi-final just three years earlier, but suffered relegation with a league-high 79 goals conceded in 2003-04.

Though many big names had departed, their relegated side still included several heroes of their European ventures, including Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Ian Harte and England number one, Paul Robinson.

Newcastle United (2008/09)

Newcastle United were in the mud in the late noughties. European regulars at the start of the decade, the noughties came to a conclusion with the Magpies in the second tier.

The 2008-09 season was shambolic at St James' Park. Their chaotic campaign saw the club have four different managers, including a desperate late bid from Alan Shearer to salvage their top-flight status.

It didn't work.

Newcastle's struggling side slipped into the second tier on the final day, as a Damien Duff own goal condemned them to defeat at Aston Villa.

Duff, a two-time title winner at Chelsea, was one of several big names in a squad that also included Michael Owen, Obafembi Martins, Alan Smith and Nicky Butt.