"It is worrying..." - Carlton Palmer hands Bristol City and Watford Championship warning | OneFootball

Highlights

Poor runs of form from both Watford and Bristol City have opened the door to an unlikely but entirely plausible relegation battle - and both teams will be keen to avoid being dragged into the bottom three.

The Hornets have picked up just four points from their last six Championship games, dropping like a stone from the top half of the table to within just seven points of the drop zone - whilst the Robins have lost their last four games in the division after a promising run that also saw them in mid-table and are only six points clear of the bottom three.

There are plenty of other teams below them but fans won't be able to relax until they are on their way to being mathematically secure - and Carlton Palmer has urged caution heading into the business end of the season.

What Carlton Palmer has said about Watford and Bristol City's chances of survival

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer warned both clubs that they should be wary of going down - though he expected both to remain safe in their bid to continue their Championship statuses next season.

Palmer said: “Bristol City are on a terrible run at the moment, four consecutive defeats. Sometimes you have to say: 'Be careful what you wish for' in getting rid of Nigel Pearson.

“They’re on 44 points and really, they don’t want to get sucked into the relegation battle. If you look at the teams at the bottom now, you have Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke and Huddersfield on 38 whilst Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham are on 39, so they are only five points out of the battle. If they lose another couple of games and those below them win, they could get sucked in.

“I think it’s highly unlikely they will be relegated but they need a result or two, and quickly. “The other team that need to be worried is Watford. They’ve managed to pick up a draw on Wednesday against Swansea. Their last six games have not been great with just one win and one draw, and four losses. They’re on 45 points.

“Again, I don’t see them getting sucked into a relegation battle and they’ll pick up enough points just to keep them out of the bottom three. But it is worrying, with both teams being considered potential promotion contenders or certainly for the play-offs, to see where they currently are in the league."

Watford and Bristol City's Championship run-ins analysed

Looking at the last six games for both teams, Watford will need to be peering over their shoulders especially in what is a tough run-in.

Facing promotion hopefuls Leeds, Coventry and West Brom even before then, trips away to fellow top half sides Southampton and Ipswich Town means Ismael’s men could struggle to pick up points, with home games against top-half outfits Preston, Hull and Sunderland to come in the meantime.

Their season is rounded off by an away trip to Middlesbrough, and so the only place they look to be favourites is an away trip to Birmingham City - meaning Ismael’s side will need to act quickly if they are to secure enough points to avoid any more relegation chatter.

For the Robins, their run-in looks a lot more manageable. Home clashes against bottom half outfits in Rotherham, Huddersfield and Blackburn Rovers follow away trips to Norwich, Sunderland and Stoke - which should be more than enough for them to pick up at least six points to put them on the magical 50-point total.

A home clash against Swansea on Sunday and an away trip to Plymouth Argyle sees them have one of the more manageable run-ins of the campaign; and so the Robins should be fine in their quest to even avoid the notion of a relegation dogfight.