With just 13 Premier League matches remaining, it looks as if the relegation battle at the bottom-half of the table is going to go down to the wire.

Both Hull City and Swansea City have seen significant upturns in form since the arrivals of their new managers, Marco Silva and Paul Clement respectively.

AFC Bournemouth are looking like getting dragged in having lost five of their last seven outings, Middlesbrough are fruitless in front of goal, defending league champions Leicester City look somewhat revived under Craig Shakespeare, Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace are starting to find their feet and Sunderland remain rock-bottom.

With Bournemouth entertaining West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium, and relegation contenders Hull and Swansea going head-to-head at the KCOM Stadium, all on Saturday, the top-flight’s drop zone could change dramatically once more this weekend as the FA Cup quarter-finals halts some of their nearest rivals.

So, ahead of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, Shoot! assesses each team’s chances of the all-important top-flight survival come the end of the 2016-17 season…

AFC Bournemouth: 14th (27pts)

Cherries boss Eddie Howe.

Now, on the face of it, you’d say 14th is a safe enough position from relegation. However, Bournemouth sit just five points away from the relegation places, and are dangling dangerously above the relegation zone.

The Cherries have been on a downward spiral of late, having not one in the Premier League this calendar year.

Injuries to key players Callum Wilson and Jack Wilshere certainly hasn’t helped their cause. The latter has recently returned to fitness, but another key player The Cherries have missed is centre-back Nathan Ake, who was recalled by his parent club Chelsea in January.

He was an integral member in Bournemouth’s campaign, he shored up the defence and was putting in some excellent displays for the club. However, now Ake’s not in that back line, they are conceding goals at a worrying rate and continue to lose valuable points.

Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth could well get dragged into trouble, they need to be careful. Coupled with the lack of a recognised goalscorer, Bournemouth will struggle to stop this slump.

Leicester City: 15th (27pts)

Foxes’ Demarai Gray.

Following the recent sacking of title-winning boss Claudio Ranieri, caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare has revived Leicester with two wins in two, with consecutive 3-1 victories over Liverpool and Hull City.

This has been coupled with six goals and six points. Before Shakespeare took charge, The Foxes were without a league goal or win in 2017. Impact.

You could argue with the ability of the squad, they shouldn’t be in a relegation battle. However, star men Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez haven’t been able to find the form they showed last season, up until late. Leicester’s summer and January recruitment has come in for some heavy criticism, with the likes of record signing Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa and Nampalys Mendy all failing to impress.

Could these players now start to shine under different management?

Defensively they are still a little vulnerable and have shown to be exposed on a number of occasions this season.

It goes to show the impact N’Golo Kante had last season, as in this campaign the defence have definitely been hurting from the lack of protection he offered.

However, going forward there is some real firepower there, and in the last two games Leicester have looked reminiscent of last season. They may well start surging up the league if they carry on with this revival under Shakespeare.

Swansea City: 16th (27pts)

Swans boss Paul Clement.

The appointment of Paul Clement has sparked new life into Swansea, at one stage they looked destined for the drop, but the former Derby boss has inspired this group of players into an excellent turnaround in form and results.

Clement took over the Welsh club on January 3, and has made some shrewd signings; Luciano Narsingh, Martin Olsson, Tom Carroll and Jordan Ayew, have all been added to the squad.

Despite an impressive upturn in form, Swansea ought to not rest on their laurels, but nevertheless The Swans at this stage are certainly looking hopeful of avoiding relegation.

Crystal Palace: 17th (25pts)

Eagles winger Wilfried Zaha.

Sam Allardyce has not had quite the desired effect the club wanted since he took over from Alan Pardew back in December.

Fans have been dismayed by some performances, including an humiliating home defeat to Sunderland in early February, with the Eagles losing 0-4 on that occasion.

The squad is a talented bunch however, up front the Eagles have record signing Christian Benteke leading the line, and in the wide areas, there is certainly quality there, including Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend, Patrick van Aanholt and Jeffrey Schlupp.

In the middle, they’ve got the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Flamini, as well. Ultimately for Palace, despite their ability and potential, they haven’t performed to their capable standards this season, hence their precarious position.

They haven’t been getting that service to Benteke enough, but something tells us the South London club will survive. Allardyce has a reputation of keeping teams up, like he did with Sunderland in the 2015-16 season, who looked destined for relegation this term.

Middlesbrough: 18th (22pts)

Boro forward Alvaro Negredo.

Middlesbrough are a tough one to work out. At the start of the season, I backed them to finish in the top half, I felt Karanka’s style of football would suit the Premier League well, and not only that, I also felt they invested very well in the summer.

Defensively, they have one of the most assured backlines in the division, but up front has been their undoing. They simply do not execute enough goalscoring opportunities and at this level, you have to do that.

Summer signing Alvaro Negredo needs more supply and service, and if they manage to do that more often, the former Manchester City man will score goals and potentially keep them up.

Negredo still has that pedigree in front of goal. But Boro have been fruitless recently, and it’s looking bleak for them. Sure, defensively they are sound in terms of the goals conceded ratio, but they are still losing crucial points and games as the season reaches its penultimate finale.

Hull City: 19th (21pts)

Tigers defender Harry Maguire.

Saddled in 19th are Hull, but on recent showings, that perhaps isn’t where they should be.

Despite their most recent defeat at Leicester, like Swansea, fellow new manager Marco Silva has seemingly worked wonders in revitalising the Yorkshire club.

The team now have a real rhythm to their game for other teams to be cautious of, they are countering with pace in numbers, and are showing desire as a unit to defend against opposition attacks. Centre-back Harry Maguire has shined and is starting to attract interest from other clubs.

Silva became The Tigers’ new manager in early January, and has already overhauled the squad with some impressive signings, including Evandro Goebel, Andrea Ranocchia, Alfred N’Diaye, Kamil Grosicki, Oumar Niasse, Omar Elabdellaoui and Lazar Markovic.

Since Silva has taken over, his side has amassed wins over the likes of Liverpool, Bournemouth and Swansea. Silva’s men have also held out draws against Manchester United and Everton. At this time, although Hull have shown some real promise to avoid the drop, I’m still unconvinced if they will manage it in the end.

I don’t feel they have a prolific goalscorer, which could be their undoing. They need to keep this renewed momentum going under Silva, and if they do that they may well have a chance.

Sunderland: 20th (19pts)

Sunderland shot stopper Jordan Pickford.

Unfortunately, it isn’t looking bright for Sunderland. They’re rock bottom on just 19 points.

They are heavily reliant on top goalscorer Jermain Defoe, and ultimately they do not have enough players who are match winners, other than the Englishman.

Injury to Victor Anichebe was a big blow, as the former Everton forward gave The Black Cats a glimmer of hope following a few impressive performances late last year.

Manager David Moyes didn’t recruit how he’d of liked in January due to a limited transfer budget, Sunderland may well pay for the effects of that.

Season-on-season they are scraping by, and somehow they manage to survive. I think this season their luck will run out.