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Middlesbrough and Newcastle fans can take heart from the record books ahead of Sunday's relegation showdown as recent history suggests there is still hope.

The pair, along with Hull City and Sunderland, enter the final day of the Premier League season with their top flight status hanging in the balance.

Indeed, Boro and Toon, who occupy 18th and 19th spots respectively, are in particularly precarious positions.

Gareth Southgate's side face a potentially tricky trip to West Ham while Alan Shearer's Magpies travel to Aston Villa.

Neither are easy games, especially with so much riding on the outcomes, and with results elsewhere needed to secure their safety, the duo would appear to be odds-on to join West Brom in the Championship next season.

But a number of memorable final-day escapes suggest there is still hope for the beleaguered pair.

Since the Premier League's inception in the 1992-93 season, a total of 19 teams have entered the final day in the bottom three but with their survival hopes still alive, as Boro and Newcastle do on Sunday.

Of those 19 teams, seven have managed to pull off the unimaginable and escape the clutches of relegation.

That is a 37 per cent success rate, which is more than enough to give the folk of the Tyne-Tees area real hope ahead of the nerve-jangling finale.

Of course, that means that twelve have failed in their mission, but let us for the moment focus on those teams that were successful, and how they managed to pull it off.

Wigan 2006-07 (Sheffield United 1-2 Wigan)

Paul Jewell's side entered the final day knowing that victory in a match that was the very definition of a six-pointer would secure their safety. Paul Scharner put the Latics ahead only for Jon Stead to bring United level on 38 minutes. But former Blade David Unsworth won it for Wigan, the defender keeping his nerve from the penalty spot in first-half injury time. Defeat for United, along with West Ham's victory at champions Manchester United, consigned Neil Warnock's side to relegation and prompted an almighty fuss over Tevez-gate.

West Brom 2004-05 (West Brom 2-0 Portsmouth)

The Baggies made history by becoming the first team to avoid the drop despite being rock bottom at Christmas in the 2004-05 season. Safety was secured on a tense final day at the Hawthorns when Geoff Horsfield and on-loan Kieran Richardson netted to seal a famous 2-0 win over Pompey. At The Valley, Charlton drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace, sparking a wild pitch invasion in the Black Country and providing Bryan Robson with his finest moment as a manager.

Bradford 1999-2000 (Bradford 1-0 Liverpool)

Occupying the final relegation place and facing Liverpool on the final day, Bradford fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. But David Wetherall took just 12 minutes to restore faith in those at Valley Parade, thumping a header past Sander Westerveld from a free-kick. It proved to be the winner, and with Wimbledon losing 2-0 at Southampton, the Bantams defied all the odds to stay up and send the Dons down.

Everton 1997-98 (Everton 1-1 Coventry)

A point behind Bolton going into the final game of the season, Everton had to hope the Lancashire club would slip up at Chelsea to have any chance of staying up. Bolton eventually obliged by losing 2-0, but over at Goodison Park, it was far from plain sailing. Gareth Farrelly put the Toffees ahead early on with a brilliant strike from 25 yards before Nicky Barmby had the chance to seal victory from the penalty spot in the 84th minute. He missed, Dion Dublin pulled Coventry level in the last minute and those in the stadium were subjected to a nerve-wracking finale. Ultimately, it ended in Everton joy - and an obligatory pitch invasion.

Coventry 1996-97 (Tottenham 1-2 Coventry)

Seven teams' top flight status was in peril at the end of the 1996-97 season, making for a thrilling final day of action. Coventry emerged the biggest winners, claiming victory away at Spurs to leapfrog Sunderland, who lost 1-0 at Wimbledon. Dion Dublin and Paul Williams were on target for the Sky Blues before Paul McVeigh pulled one back for Spurs just before the break. But it was goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic who was the real hero for Gordon Strachan's side, making two late saves as Coventry clung on to victory.

Everton 1993-94 (Everton 3-2 Wimbledon)

Everton were again involved in the shake-up at the end of the 1993-94 season, the Toffees needing a win at home to Wimbledon, while hoping Sheffield United would slip up at Chelsea. That outcome looked unlikely after 20 minutes, by which time Everton were already 2-0 down. But a rousing recovery saw Graham Stuart bag a brace and Barry Horne net a 30-yard screamer to clinch victory. And with the Blades losing 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, Mike Walker's side stayed in the top flight.

Oldham 1992-93 (Oldham 4-3 Southampton)

Oldham survived the inaugural Premiership season after a seven-goal final-day thriller at Boundary Park. Neil Pointon, Ian Olney, Andy Ritchie and Gunnar Halle had given Oldham a comfortable 4-1 lead, with Matt Le Tissier on the scoresheet for the Saints, while at Highbury Crystal Palace, who went into the final day three points ahead of Oldham, were losing to Arsenal. It looked good for the Latics - until Le Tissier bagged another two to set up a nail-biting final five minutes, during which Saints had a huge penalty appeal turned down. Oldham hung on, Palace ended up losing 3-0 and Joe Royle's side stayed up on goal difference.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport