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Ranking the top-5 relegation escapes in European history

With doubt cast over the remainder of the European fixture list, clubs who currently find themselves in their respective relegation zones may find themselves with a reprieve. FC Yahoo's Ryan Bailey looks at the history of clubs who survived by their play on the field.

Video transcript

RYAN BAILEY: The only thing more exciting than a title race is a relegation battle. Here are the teams that truly beat the odds.

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Ryan Bailey for Yahoo Sports.

With European Leagues soccer hanging precariously in the balance, the teams who currently occupy the relegation zones of each league could possibly be handed a reprieve. In the Eredivisie, the bottom three teams have already been granted another chance with the cancellation of the season. With that in mind, we're looking back at the five greatest relegation escapes in European history, starting in '99-2000 with Bradford City.

The Bantams endured a dreadful season, spending most of the second half of the season in the drop zone. Amazingly, they picked up a crucial seven points in April and needed to beat high flying Liverpool on the final day to avoid the drop. And they did it. Not only did they stay up, but that last gasp win prevented Liverpool from qualifying for the Champions League.

Number four takes us to Serie A and the miraculous survival of Crotone in 2016-17. In their first ever top flight season, the southern Italian side spent only two game weeks outside the relegation zone-- the first week and the last week. Having won only three matches before April that season, Crotone looked dead and buried until an incredible end of season run that saw them take points from both Milan teams. They needed to beat fifth-place Lazio on the final day to survive, and they did it by a 3-1 scoreline.

Number three is a controversial one from the Premier League, West Ham's survival in 2006-07. The Hammers were rock bottom and 10 points from safety with 10 games remaining, but put on a brilliant winning streak in the run in, during which they faced five of the top six teams. They needed to beat champions Manchester United on the final day to stay up, and they did it via a Carlos Tevez goal.

However, it transpired that Tevez and fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano were both signed in breach of third party ownership rules, which led to an ugly legal battle with Sheffield United, who were relegated in their place.

Number two is an unbelievable relegation battle that Eintracht Frankfurt survived in 1999. On the final day of that season, five teams were fighting to avoid the drop, including Eintracht, who were facing Champions League contenders Kaiserslautern. Against the odds, Eintracht took a 4-1 lead, but they were still facing the drop on goal difference with 8 minutes left to play. But then Jan Age Fjortoft stepped up in the 89th minute and saved the Eagles from relegation with just seconds of the season to go.

Our number one relegation escape isn't as tense as that, but it led to something quite special. It's Leicester's escape in 2014-15. The Foxes had been written off in what was their first Premier League season in a decade, but manager Nigel Pearson staved off near certain relegation with seven wins in the final nine matches.

Many were upset when he was replaced by Claudia Ranieri a few months later and predicted relegation once again the following season. But Pearson started a winning streak that led Leicester to the greatest league title win of all time. Going from a relegation escape to champions in one season is a feat pretty unlikely to be repeated ever again.

So that's our top five. For more on the beautiful game, follow FC Yahoo on your favorite social channels and stay up to date on Yahoo Sports. Love to your mothers. See you next time.