The teams we can catch

[Denver Fulham]

Looking more and more like we need to pass three of Norwich, WBA, Crystal Palace or Cardiff. Sunderland's still in the mix, but their form under Poyet and overall team quality, plus not having a match against them, makes them less likely imo.

The good news: We play all four of those "targets," with two of the matches at home. We also have a far easier run-in than Crystal Palace (schedule is absolutely brutal) and Norwich (last four matches could be horrible for them if UCL, etc remains in play). We also totally own Norwich.

More good news: There's no mandate to have 40 points. Or 38. Or any point total. We just have to be ahead of three teams at the end. Or, in our case, we need to be above two teams and within 2 points of Palace entering the final match. Frankly, if we're within a point or two of Norwich entering that last match, we could leapfrog two teams with a win.

Mitroglou is going to be an improvement (although Bent put in a very credible shift today). If we can figure out what we're doing on the right wing, we should have the ability to beat some of these lesser teams. The match on the 22nd is immense. I don't know if it's 100% "must-win," but it's surely "can't lose."

12 matches left. 5-6 wins to get. I still believe.