Premier League table: Relegation battle after Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton
Everton passed up the chance to move out of the drop zone as the Toffees were held to a 2-2 draw away to fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.
Sean Dyche, on his return to a club that he represented at youth level when Brian Clough was still the manager, watched his Everton side twice take the lead, first through Demarai Gray's penalty and then via Abdoulaye Doucoure's first-half header, yet still emerge without all three points. Only two clubs have dropped more points from winning positions than Everton this season.
Forest's top scorer Brennan Johnson provided a pair of equalisers on either side of the interval. Johnson, whose father David faced Dyche on the pitch when the pair shared the Championship stage at the start of the millennium, was first on the scene to snaffle up a parry from Jordan Pickford before stuffing his second of the afternoon into the top corner after a slick one-two.
A point apiece left the relegation battle wonderfully poised with a third of the campaign to play.
How the Premier League table looks after Nottingham Forest 2-2 Everton
Position | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Crystal Palace | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | -11 | 27 |
13 | Wolves | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -16 | 27 |
14 | Nott'm Forest | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | -24 | 26 |
15 | Leicester | 25 | 7 | 3 | 15 | -7 | 24 |
16 | West Ham | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | -10 | 23 |
17 | Leeds | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | -11 | 22 |
18 | Everton | 26 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -19 | 22 |
19 | Southampton | 25 | 6 | 3 | 16 | -21 | 21 |
20 | Bournemouth | 25 | 5 | 6 | 14 | -27 | 21 |
The bottom nine teams in the division are separated by just six points.
Crystal Palace may occupy the seemingly lofty heights of 12th but Patrick Vieira's side lie just two wins away from the foot of the table after a winless streak of nine league matches this calendar year.
Everton couldn't haul themselves above the all-important perforated line with a draw against Forest but are as close to West Ham in 16th as they are to Bournemouth at the foot of the table; one slender point.
The Cherries could have launched themselves well outside the relegation zone had they held onto a 2-0 lead against Arsenal on Saturday. However, Bournemouth have given up even more leads than Everton and trudged away from the Emirates with nothing. Southampton's narrow 1-0 victory against Leicester later that day moved Ruben Selles' side off the bottom and above the Cherries, keeping the Foxes very much within the relegation picture in 15th place.
Forest were beaten 4-0 by Leicester at the start of October but the club's hierarchy responded by extending Steve Cooper's contract. The former Swansea City boss has rewarded that act of commitment by guiding the Tricky Trees into 14th, two points above Leicester.
Only one club among the division's bottom five has resisted the urge to change their manager. However, the decision-makers West Ham must be getting twitchy after David Moyes' side were dealt a 4-0 thrashing by bogey side Brighton on Saturday.
Leeds sit one place below West Ham and face Brentford - a club so far clear of this mire they have more points than Chelsea - on Monday night.
Despite defeating Champions League-chasing Tottenham this past weekend, Wolves remain embroiled in this scrap, which will undoubtedly take another twist in the club's next home fixture against Leeds.
The title race between Arsenal and Manchester City has rightly attracted a lot of attention but this season's scrap for survival could prove to be even more enthralling as the games and available points continue to tick down.