We look at how many more points Sheffield Wednesday could need to avoid relegation.
Sheffield Wednesday have looked all but relegated on a number of occasions this term, while their season already looked doomed early on when they went 13 games without a win.
However, five months on and the Owls have racked up eleven victories and are just one win away from finally climbing their way out of the Championship’s relegation zone.
It has looked a huge ask, but safety is within touching distance now. Though if they do make it out, it will be just as big of a challenge to stay out over the course of the final nine games.
Those nine games are entirely unpredictable, with Danny Rohl‘s side set to face Ipswich, Swansea, Middlesbrough, QPR, Norwich, Stoke, Blackburn, West Brom and Sunderland.
While every season is different, we have taken a look at the number of points that were needed over the previous five seasons to avoid relegation.
The lowest number of points it took to get relegated over the last five seasons was 37 points, when Peterborough, Derby County and Barnsley dropped down to League One two years ago, while Reading stayed up with 41.
What will Sheffield Wednesday need to stay up?
With Sheffield Wednesday currently sat on 38 points, I think it’s fair to say they will need significantly more to stay up.
The highest total needed to stay up came at the end of the 2019/20 season, when Barnsley needed 49 points to ensure safety.
This is only nine points more than what the Owls have now, which would mean they would need to average a point a game – or three wins from nine matches. Given that they have picked up five wins in their last seven games, that seems very possible.
With 41 points (2018/19), 49 points (2019/20), 44 points (2020/21), 38 points (2021/22) and 45 points (2022/23) all previously guaranteeing safety, staying up certainly seems reasonable for the Yorkshire outfit.
However, the relegation battle in the Championship is arguably tighter than it has been in a very long time, with only nine points separating 12th place and 23rd place.
It means that every single point counts as extra, while it could also allow the Owls to shoot up the table if they continued with their impressive form.