Watford have 12 games left to save their Premier League season

The Hornets are currently 19th in the league table, after an impressive streak under Nigel Pearson tailed off with four winless matches, but they still have everything to play for with just one point dividing them from safety at the moment.

The bookies are not as concerned about Watford's safety as others seem to be, however, with four teams, namely Norwich City, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and West Ham all deemed more likely candidates for the drop.

Nevertheless, that could easily change very quickly with things so tight at the bottom.

Looking at the table, it could reasonably be assumed that it is now more or less a fight between the bottom six teams for survival, with 15th placed Brighton just three points clear of the relegation zone, although they are only four points behind Arsenal, Burnley, Newcastle and Southampton while Crystal Palace are just three clear of the Seagulls, so there is every chance one of those sides could also get drawn into the basement battle, should they undergo a poor run of games.

With bottom of the league Norwich City seven points adrift, it is looking increasingly likely that they will be back in the second tier next season, which leaves the other five teams fighting it out between them.

Of those teams, it could be argued that Bournemouth have the toughest run between now and the end of the season, with five games against the current top six still to be played and no games against the other five teams around them at the bottom of the table.

Back-to-back games against Chelsea and Liverpool will be difficult for the Cherries, while Wolves, Manchester United, Southampton and Everton will all be difficult matches too.

Also set to face five of the top six between now and the end of the season are Aston Villa, whose run in will see them go up against Sheffield United, Leicester City and Chelsea in consecutive games, with a cup final against Manchester City in among those fixtures.

They also have to face Wolves, Man United, the resurgent Everton and Arsenal ahead of what could be a hugely significant final day battle against West Ham.

The Hammers themselves do not have a particularly friendly set of games left, with their run of fixtures beginning with back-to-back games against Man City and Liverpool.

A perilous run involving Arsenal, Wolves, Spurs and Chelsea all one after another will also be difficult to navigate, meaning their final four games, in which they face Norwich, Watford and Man United before that game with Villa on the last day could be their best chance of picking up points.

Brighton meanwhile have just one game remaining against a fellow bottom six side when they face Norwich in April, but have to play four of the current top six and, like West Ham, have consecutive games against Manchester City and Liverpool still to come.

However, a game against Crystal Palace later this month and a run of matches against Southampton, Newcastle and Burnley to end their season could give them the chance to collect enough points to stay up.

On the face of it, the Hornets' run in is not too threatening, with Norwich City and West Ham providing two games against relegation candidates, while clashes with Crystal Palace, Burnley, Southampton and Newcastle would all also be considered winnable.

However, Manchester United, Liverpool and Leicester are three of their next four opponents, which could leave them in a more vulnerable position, should they struggle in those matches as many might expect them to.

Furthermore, Manchester City and Arsenal provide Watford's final two opponents of the campaign, so they would ideally want to have their Premier League status secured before they go into those games.

With just under a third of the season remaining and only seven points dividing tenth place from 18th, the battle at the bottom of the table looks set to go right to the wire.

From Watford's point of view, five wins and a draw will take them to the coveted 40 point mark that usually signals a team's safety, although this season fewer points could well be enough.

Six of their remaining games will be seen as must-not-lose fixtures, if not must-wins, but a victory over Manchester United earlier in the season and two draws with both Tottenham Hotspur and surprise package Sheffield United suggest they have it in them to gain something from those teams higher up the table.

With time running out, Watford need to start picking up points again as they did when Pearson first arrived, if they want to be playing in the top flight again next season.