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Sky Bet League One relegation battle assessed: 13 teams can still go down with eight games to go

There are just three points separating 12th and 21st in League One with eight games to go. We take a look at the incredible relegation battle that's unfolding...

There is no middle ground in Sky Bet League One this season. Every club in the division is either in the promotion chase or the relegation battle.

And what a relegation battle it is shaping up to be. As it stands there is a gap of just three points between Plymouth in 12th and Walsall in 21st, while none of the three sides below the Saddlers are so far back that their hopes of survival are over.

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So, as we head into the final eight rounds of games of the season, there are still realistically 13 teams who could go down - although only four can.

To give you some idea of how much closer this campaign is than in previous years, last season there was a 10-point gap between 12th and 21st after 38 rounds of games, in 2016/17 there were 11 points and the year before there were 17 points.

There was also a far bigger gap in all those years than the current six points between Walsall and 21st and Bradford in 24th. And it is also a rarity at this stage of the season for there not to be at least one team cut adrift at the bottom without hope of survival.

This year AFC Wimbledon (three points from safety), have won their last three in a row and look in good form, Rochdale (four from safety) have a game in hand and Bradford (six from safety) may have lost their last two, but their defeat to Oxford came in extremely controversial circumstances and they have looked far better since the appointment of Gary Bowyer.

Who is in the best form?

AFC Wimbledon, as mentioned above, have won their last three games and could be out of the bottom four sooner or later if they keep this form up.

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Bristol Rovers have climbed as high as 13th after winning three and drawing one of their last four, while every other side, bar two, have won one of their last three games.

Who is in the worst form?

Wycombe looked relatively comfortable in mid-table, but a run of three draws and six defeats in their last nine games has seen them drop into trouble.

Southend are without a win in 10 (four draws, six defeats) and that run has seen them drop to 20th, only above the relegation zone on goal difference.

Who has the easiest run-in?

If we determine a team's position in the league as how difficult they are to face - ie. Luton have a difficulty of 1 and Bradford 24 - we can work out how tough each side's run-in is depending on the average league position of their remaining opponents.

Taking this into account, Scunthorpe will be the happiest as they have an average remaining opponent of 15.5 in the league, while Gillingham (15.1) and AFC Wimbledon (14.9) are close behind.

Who has the toughest run-in?

Plymouth, despite being in the best position of every club, have by far the toughest average run-in. Their remaining opponents are at an average of 10.3 in the table, with the nearest after that being Accrington, who are a full place lower on 11.3.

Oxford and Bradford (both 11.8) and Rochdale and Bristol Rovers (both 11.9) are the other sides facing opponents with an average of just inside the top half of the table.

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