Sunderland, Cardiff and Fulham great price for triple-sided doom

For the vast majority of this season calling the final three teams to fall through the Premier League trapdoor has looked a job for Nostradamus himself, as the struggling clubs have regularly traded places.

But gradually the chaff has separated itself from the wheat and now punters should grab the opportunity to back the current trio of stragglers to be the final three to be binned.

Ladbrokes are offering 10/11 that bottom-placed Sunderland will be joined by Cardiff in 19th and Fulham above them, not to be appearing on Match Of The Day next season.

For a while there, when Sunderland were busy getting into the Capital One Cup final and FA Cup quarters, it seemed as if their backlog of league games would simply act as well-placed rungs for them to steadily climb back up the ladder to safety.

However, those rungs have clearly been covered in grease and having been pummelled 5-1 by Tottenham in their latest game, Gus Poyet’s Black Cats look to have finally run out of lives.

Despite still having two games in hand (which could in theory place them a point behind 17th-place Norwich as it stands) a rock-hard run-in where they face Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea next, gives the 1/6 shots next-to-no hope.

Meanwhile, Cardiff’s dugout switch has done little to stop the perceived rot which forced them to hastily sack Malky Mackay, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer overseeing five defeats in the Bluebirds’ last seven league fixtures.

Southampton and Chelsea away are among their tougher remaining games, though they’ve had the look of dead-men walking ever since Hull stuffed them 4-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium back in February.

Glimmers of hope remain brightest with Fulham, who can affect things with a monumental home match against Norwich at Craven Cottage next.

Even so, a five-point gap to the Canaries at this stage is huge and with trips to Tottenham and Stoke still to come, we are still talking miracles.

Miracles, which a distinct lack of firepower look ill-equipped to make happen.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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