Doomsday, they’re calling it, and for three clubs it will have a deathly ring.

Indeed, such is the prevailing gloom at Leeds and Leicester, you half expect their games to be refereed by pall-bearers.

Everton are more hopeful on the pitch, but could find themselves in a deeper hole financially even if they stay up.

With the title decided, Matchday 38 of the English Premier League might also be billed as Survival Sunday.

The bell has already tolled for Southampton, but the fight to avoid Everton’s fate carries an added dimension.

Like Manchester City, Everton have a charge of breaking the rules of Financial Fair Play (FFP) hanging over them.

A points deduction is a possibility if they’re found guilty, but, as with City, the EPL seems reluctant to dish out a retrospective punishment.

And they’re not in a hurry to decide, either.

Pep Guardiola pleaded for a swift resolution to City’s case this week, but it may have been a PR stunt to soften the delaying tactics of his bosses.

Hoping that a points-deduction would be enough to send the Toffees down, Everton’s rivals have also asked for a speedy solution, but were fobbed off.

Burnley and Leeds demanded the same last season, but nothing happened.

In a supreme irony, it was none other than Sean Dyche, now on the cusp of keeping Everton up, who led Burnley’s campaign.

Even survival would not be the end of his new club’s problems. Work on their new stadium has stalled as have talks about a takeover.

Fears of going into administration won’t go away.

And whatever league they’re in, the squad needs a lot spending on it.

Still, with a two-point advantage over both Leeds and Leicester, they are favourites to send both of them down.

Sunday’s opponents are Bournemouth, who have nothing to play for.

But Everton won’t be taking them lightly after two thrashings by the south coast side already this season.

A 4-1 demolition in the Carabao Cup was the low point with fans erupting in fury, calling for the heads of then manager Frank Lampard and the board.

To survive again – Everton haven’t been relegated since 1951 – would be a massive relief, but a summer of discontent still looks inevitable.

In a season when all three promoted sides – besides Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have also defied the odds – it is a shock to see Leicester in such strife.

The miracle 5,000-1 champions in 2016, the Foxes won the FA Cup in 2021 and reached the Europa Conference semi-final in 2022.

No one predicted such a sudden demise.

But a spate of injuries coinciding with owners King Power, the Thai duty-free merchants, feeling the pinch from Covid, meant no new signings.

Form declined, manager Brendan Rodgers departed and, if the worst happens, star player, James Maddison, will surely follow him.

Leicester face West Ham at home.

Leeds’s fall has been more predictable. Unable to sustain the Marcelo Bielsa revival that took them out of the wilderness, the hierarchy panicked.

The legendary Argentine was sacked, American Jesse Marsch barely survived last season but not this one.

His replacement Javi Gracia was also brutally sacked to make way for Last Chance Saloon specialist, Sam Allardyce.

But it’s looking like they left that move too late.

Barring an unexpected helping hand from Bournemouth, Leeds, who host unpredictable Tottenham, will soon be looking for yet another manager.

It’s Everton to make it but they’ll still face a sticky future.

Glazers still treating United as a cash cow

Dirty, rotten scoundrels to the end. It might be the epitaph for a notorious criminal gang and, in the eyes of Manchester United fans, the Glazers fit the bill.

As if seeing the hated owners trouser the best part of £6 billion when they finally skulk away isn’t a bitter enough pill to swallow, the Florida fleecers are still at it.

In what might be called Fergie time on the impending sale of the club, they are jeopardising plans to rebuild the team by continuing to milk it.

As they have for 18 torrid years, they are squeezing every last drop out of prospective buyers, Sheikh Jassim or Jim Ratcliffe.

Manager Erik ten Hag has admitted he has “no idea” how much is available to spend in the fast-approaching transfer window.

Not helpful when you’re trying to extract Harry Kane from Spurs or Victor Osimhen from Napoli, either likely to cost over £100m.

Not to mention to reconstruct the centres of defence and midfield.

If the imbroglio lasts much longer, key targets will go elsewhere and United could be back to the scattergun days of Ed Woodward.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, news comes of more salt being rubbed into the festering wounds.

In a rare flicker of interest, co-director Avram Glazer turned up at Wembley for the Carabao Cup final in February and Women’s FA Cup final this month.

But he didn’t exactly slum it. United’s accounts department has just received a bill for £250,000 for each trip – so half a million for two games.

The story broke just after United had raised season ticket prices for next season, citing “rising costs”.

The club’s accountant must be tempted to borrow a phrase used by the Sun about a hapless England manager.

Splashed across the front page were the words: “In the name of God, go!”

Toney a victim of football’s hypocrisy

Football’s hypocrisy knows no bounds: awash with gambling advertising, it dishes out draconian punishments to anyone who places a bet.

England and Brentford striker Ivan Toney has just been banned for eight months and cannot even train for four of them.

Admitting to placing 262 bets on games (but none in which he was involved) over five years, Toney had to be punished.

But the ban seems draconian. Even England manager Gareth Southgate says: “It’s no way to look after people.”

It isn’t and Toney needs all the help – and training facilities – he can get during his purgatory.

The shirt Toney wore for his club is sponsored by Hollywoodbets.

When he joined, he played in the Skybet Championship, and the club’s owner, Mathew Benham, made a fortune from betting and data analysis.

Football cannot have it both ways: Toney should be cut some slack – and be allowed to train.

Otherwise, he might slip through the cracks altogether.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.