The Premier League relegation battle is often one of the most engaging elements of an English league season — at least, if you're not a fan of a team facing the drop.
The bottom three sides in the Premier League table at the end of the season drop down into the EFL Championship, to be replaced by the top two from the second tier and the winners of the Championship playoff final.
Sheffield United had long looked doomed in 2024 after struggling on their return to the top table, while Burnley were also mired in a relegation battle for the majority of the season despite their impressive Championship performances under Vincent Kompany.
Luton Town were fighting for survival until the final day, while Everton and Nottingham Forest had major scares amid points deductions for financial rule breaches.
Here's how the battle against relegation ended.
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Premier League relegated teams 2023/24
Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town were the three teams relegated from the Premier League in 2023/24. All three had only won promotion the season before.
Sheffield United's fate was confirmed in early May, the Blades enduring a wretched season in which they conceded a league-record 103 goals. A week later, Burnley were also confirmed to be finishing in the bottom three.
Luton Town took their battle to the final day, at least mathematically, but they would have needed an implausible set of results by that stage to stay up. In the end, Nottingham Forest's win at Burnley sealed Luton's fate anyway.
Premier League table: The bottom four
*Standings correct after matches on May 19, 2024
| Pos | Team | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 49 | -18 | 32 |
| The bottom three teams are relegated to the EFL Championship | |||||
| 18. | Luton Town - R | 38 | 52 | -33 | 26 |
| 19. | Burnley - R | 38 | 41 | -37 | 24 |
| 20. | Sheffield United - R | 38 | 35 | -69 | 16 |
R = relegated
*Probabilities via The Analyst from May 4
Premier League relegation battle: Final fixtures
Nottingham Forest
| Fixture | Date | Result |
| N. Forest vs. Man City | April 28, 2024 | L 2-0 |
| Sheff. United vs. N. Forest | May 4, 2024 | W 3-1 |
| N. Forest vs. Chelsea | May 11, 2024 | L 3-2 |
| Burnley vs. N. Forest | May 19, 2024 | W 2-1 |
Luton Town
| Fixture | Date | Result |
| Wolves vs. Luton Town | April 27, 2024 | L 2-1 |
| Luton Town vs. Everton | May 3, 2024 | D 1-1 |
| West Ham vs. Luton Town | May 11, 2024 | L 3-1 |
| Luton Town vs. Fulham | May 19, 2024 | L 4-2 |
Burnley
| Fixture | Date | Result |
| Man United vs. Burnley | April 27, 2024 | D 1-1 |
| Burnley vs. Newcastle | May 4, 2024 | L 4-1 |
| Tottenham vs. Burnley | May 11, 2024 | L 2-1 |
| Burnley vs. N. Forest | May 19, 2024 | L 2-1 |
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Sheffield United
Opta's supercomputer gave Sheffield United a 99.99 percent chance of relegation as they headed into the final four games of the season. They went into halftime of their game away to Newcastle with the scores at 1-1, but a second-half collapse saw their Premier League status ended by a 5-1 defeat.
Burnley
Burnley's upturn in form (just one defeat in eight league matches) gave them hope of survival when all seemed lost. They looked to be heading for a 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford before a late penalty saw them claim what could be a valuable point.
Next up were daunting games against Newcastle, who hammered them 4-1, and Tottenham, who came from a goal down to win 2-1 and seal Burnley's fate. They lost on the final day to Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline.
Luton Town
Luton started matchday 35 just a point from safety, but a 2-1 loss to a Wolves side whose season was petering out was a bitter blow. Losing 3-1 to West Ham meant their relegation would be confirmed if Nottingham Forest earned just one more point. They got three against Burnley.
Nottingham Forest
Forest's 2-0 loss to Everton was potentially significant in their survival bid, although their fate remains in their hands thanks to favours from elsewhere. Late goals from Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson condemned them to a 3-2 defeat against Chelsea, but they still only needed a draw with Burnley to be sure of safety, and even a defeat would also have required a huge goal-difference swing to send them down.
Everton
Back-to-back 2-0 wins over Nottingham Forest and Liverpool meant Everton were almost there. They faced Brentford at home on April 27 after earlier results confirmed the Bees' safety, which was another bonus. A rather tame match ended in a 1-0 win for the Toffees, securing their survival for another season.
Brentford
Brentford's safety was secured when Luton Town lost to Wolves and Burnley drew with Manchester United. Their match at Everton became something of a formality, with their focus now turning towards next season.
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
| Canada | — | |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime, Discovery Plus |
| India | Star Sports | JioTV, Hotstar |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports' streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime. TNT Sports can be streamed via Discovery Plus.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil). The action can be streamed on JioTV and Hotstar.