5 great final day Premier League escapes from Tevez heroics to historic Survival Sunday
With Southampton already down, the final day of the Premier League season will see Everton, Leeds United, and Leicester battling to avoid joining them in relegation
The Premier League title race is done and dusted and the race for the top four is over, but we're still in for a dramatic final day of euphoria and heartbreak.
The latest version of 'Survival Sunday' sees Leicester City, Leeds United, and Everton all fighting to avoid joining Southampton in being relegated to the Championship. But only one can stay up, with the Toffees currently in pole position with their haul of 33 points meaning a win at home to Bournemouth will ensure safety.
Leicester, who host West Ham, and Leeds, who welcome Spurs, both sit on 31 points but critically, the Foxes have a better goal difference than their two rivals. It means a win for Dean Smith and co will mean Everton will HAVE to match them and get three points, whilst Sam Allardyce and Leeds need victory - and hope that both the other two contenders falter accordingly - to pull off a great escape.
Regardless, all three sides could do worse than delve into the history books for inspiration, and at Mirror Football we've dug out five of the greatest final day survival stories....
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The inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93 didn't disappoint, but Sir Alex Ferguson kicking off an era of dominance amid a Manchester United title win was far from the only story to emerge.
In their second season since promotion back to the top flight, Oldham Athletic appeared all but doomed with three games to. But surprise wins over title chasing Aston Villa and Liverpool gave them a fighting chance heading into the final day.
Still, the odds were stacked against Joe Royle and co. Trailing 17th placed Crystal Palace by three points, only a win over Southampton - coupled by Palace losing away to Arsenal - would be enough to secure a survival. The Gunners did their bit, hammering the Eagles 3-0, but things were far less straightforward at Boundary Park.
When Gunner Halle made it 4-1 after 64 minutes Oldham seemed home and dry - only for Matt Le Tissier to strike twice, complete a hat-trick, and make for a nerve jangling finale. But the hosts held on, and Royle's legendary status at the club was cemented.
Stuart strikes twice as Everton storm back
Everton fans can take solace in the fact that whilst a bumpy ride awaits them this afternoon - it's child play compared to the potential jeopardy they escaped from in 1993/94.
After a run of just one win in ten games, they hosted high flying Wimbledon on the final day firmly in the bottom three, a single point behind Southampton, Sheffield United and Ipswich Town, and one ahead of Royle’s Oldham. For Mike Walker's side, working out all the permutations was futile - they simply and to win and hope.
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Such hope had all but evaporated after 20 minutes as a Dean Holdsworth penalty and a Gary Ablett own goal put the Dons 2-0 ahead, before Graham Stuart's penalty before the break kept Everton alive. And when Barry Horne hammered home a screamer with 20 minutes left, suddenly Goodison Park exploded into life.
And with nine minutes to go the place erupted as Stuart's scuffed shot somehow beat Hans Segers, before news filtered through that Southampton and Ipswich were drawing while Sheffield United and Oldham were losing. After a tense few minutes waiting for confirmation, it was confirmed that Everton had somehow survived.
Baggies battle back from being rock bottom
It was what Sky Sports dubbed the initial 'Survival Sunday', and boy did it live up to expectations.
On the final day of the 2004/05 campaign, no one was already relegated, with Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace, and West Brom all still in the mix. Only two points separated them but it was the Baggies who were bottom, needing no less than a win over Portsmouth to have a chance.
Bryan Robson's men did their bit, beating Portsmouth 2-0, whilst 18th placed Norwich duly capitulated 6-0 at Fulham. Southampton's early goal at St Mary's was negated by Man United fighting back to win 2-1, meaning fans at the Hawthorns were left praying on Palace slipping up.
Slip up they did, conceding a late equaliser at Charlton to draw 2-2. West Brom's final total of 34 points was the lowest ever total for a surviving team in the Premier League - but little did fans and players care amid a jubilant pitch invasion.
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West Ham's escape from the drop in 2006/07 was as controversial as it was dramatic.
Needing to win on the final day, the one fixture they didn't need was away to newly crowned champions Manchester United. But seven wins from nine before their trip to Old Trafford had represented an astonishing turnaround in form, and sure enough, a Carlos Tevez winner against the club he'd soon join proved enough.
The drama wasn't quite done there as Sheffield United, whose home defeat to Wigan on the same day sealed their fate took legal action over the Hammers avoiding a points deduction after being found to have broken Premier League rules over third-party ownership of players - namely Tevez and Javier Mascherano. The action failed, and the Argentinian forward went down as the hero - and the villain - of the piece.
Murphy's late header saves Hodgson's Fulham
With 14 minutes to play at Fratton park, Fulham were heading back to the Championship. And them up stepped Danny Murphy.
Roy Hodgson's side went into the final day 17th, ahead of Reading on goal difference and a point clear of Birmingham. But the tension ramped up among the way fans when news filtered through that both those sides were winning comfortably against Derby and Blackburn respectively
But it was then that the midfielder headed home Jimmy Bullard's free-kick, with the post-match picture of the two celebrating topless an image still etched in the minds of Fulham fans. The Cottagers finished level with Reading, but survived by three mere goals.
