Blackpool's relegation fight predicted to go down to the wire as Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic continue their slide

The struggling Seasiders are now without a victory in their last nine games following their New Year’s Day draw against Sunderland.

It means they remain inside the bottom three, third from bottom and one point away from safety.

The results have been ever-so-slightly better since the return from the World Cup break though, Michael Appleton’s side drawing four of the five games they’ve played – but that long-awaited win still eludes them.

According to an updated predictions table from FiveThirtyEight, Blackpool are predicted to stay up but only by the skin of their teeth.

The ‘supercomputer’ has the Seasiders finishing in their current position of 21st, just one place and two points above the dreaded dropzone.

It’s forecasted the Seasiders will end the season on 49 points, lower than the traditional magical 50-point mark but crucially enough to sit higher than three other teams.

Wigan Athletic, who have lost 4-1 in their last three games under new boss Kolo Toure, are forecasted to finish bottom, while Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town are also heading towards the third tier if the data is to be believed.

Should Blackpool finish 49 points, it will be 11 fewer than they managed under Neil Critchley last season when they finished in 16th place.

According to statisticians and data experts, Blackpool have a 43 per cent chance of being relegated back to League One.

Following the completion of this weekend’s round of fixtures, data experts at FiveThirtyEight have crunched the numbers and predicted how the final Championship table will look…

FiveThirtyEight’s predicted Championship table

Team Predicted Points

Burnley 91 (+38)

Sheffield United 86 (+32)

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Middlesbrough 73 (+17)

Millwall 72 (+12)

West Brom 71 (+16)

Watford 71 (+8)

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Luton Town 70 (+9)

Norwich City 66 (+6)

Swansea City 66 (+6)

Blackburn Rovers 66 (-5)

Sunderland 65 (+9)

Coventry City 65 (+2)

Preston 63 (-3)

QPR 63 (-4)

Reading 62 (-9)

Birmingham City 58 (-4)

Stoke City 57 (-6)

Bristol City 56 (-4)

Hull City 56 (-17)

Cardiff City 52 (-13)

Blackpool 49 (-17)

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Huddersfield Town 47 (-17)

Rotherham United 46 (-24)

Wigan Athletic 45 (-30)