Premiership / Dan Fitch / 19 April 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Every Premier League game is vital as titles, European places and relegation spots are decided. Dan 'The Betting Man' Fitch looks at the teams who have hit the worst possible form at the most important time of the season.

The Easter weekend will see lots of people finishing work on Thursday evening to enjoy four days off. At least that's the idea. In reality legions of office drones will effectively drop tools early on Wednesday morning and see their time out by deleting two year old emails from their inbox.

We might not be on holiday for another few days, but in our minds the sun is shining, our feet are up and we're drinking something cold and refreshing. Footballers are no different and there are plenty of them who are currently under the misapprehension that they're on a beach somewhere.

Or alternatively, under the misapprehension that they're controlling the midfield of Liverpool or Manchester United, rather than in the middle of a relegation battle. After Blackpool's 3-1 defeat by Wigan on Saturday, Ian Holloway alluded to the idea that his team's slide down the league and the interest shown in Charlie Adam during the January transfer window, were not unconnected. Blackpool are now the [1.36] favourites to be relegated.

Adam has actually scored five goals in the eight games he's played for Blackpool since the window slammed shut, so it seems more of a case of the whole team performing badly, than one man. Earlier on in the season Blackpool looked safe from relegation, but that can be a dangerous moment for any newly-promoted side. Hull suffered a similar fall from grace after impressing in the first half of their debut campaign, before plummeting down the league.

If your only real ambition is to not go down, then it's no surprise that a team will relax and let standards slip once they've reached a mid-table position. Blackpool are not the only side to have fallen down the league in the second half of the season. Sunderland have not won in nine games and are now just five points clear of the relegation zone.

In the case of Steve Bruce's team, I think their free-fall has been down to a number of factors. At one stage tipped for a European spot, a certain complacency has crept into their game, but they have also been hit by the sale of Darren Bent and various injuries. They're still a speculative [20.0] to be relegated and I expect them to pull clear.

It's not just at the bottom where an end of season loss of form can be costly. Since losing to Blackburn in the Carling Cup final, Arsenal have only won one league game. They missed another chance to close the gap on Manchester United when they drew at home to Liverpool on Sunday and have slid to a price of [14.0] to win the title.

Arsenal may look back at the Wembley defeat to Birmingham as the moment that their season went into free fall. Cup finals can often prove distracting to league form and it will be interesting to see how Manchester City and Stoke City fare, after winning their respective semi-finals at the weekend.

Both sides are already in poor form in the league, but at least Stoke have the excuse that they don't have much to play for. Manchester City on the other hand are targeting a place in next season's Champions League, but with just two wins out of their last six games and with Carlos Tevez injured, there is the possibility that they could once again be pipped by Spurs, who they play just five days before the cup final. City are [1.33] to make the top four, with Spurs at [3.7].