West Ham are in a two-way Premier League relegation battle with Tottenham with three games left this season. Their next match against Arsenal could be decisive in the fight for survival.
Hammers Face Arsenal in Survival Fight
West Ham are currently one point adrift of Spurs. They would have to beat title favourites Arsenal to usurp their rivals. A repeat of last weekend’s defeat at Brentford could prove fatal.
Mathematically, nothing can be decided in this next round of fixtures. If Spurs open up a four-point gap, then West Ham will find themselves with very little room for manoeuvre and relying on two slip ups from their rivals in their final two games.
Relegation Probabilities Shift
There was a big swing in the relegation probabilities after the last round of games. West Ham lost 3-0 at Brentford. Spurs won 2-1 at Aston Villa and moved out of the bottom three.
Opta’s supercomputer is currently projecting West Ham as having more than 80 per cent chance of going down. Spurs are at 19.3 per cent.
At the beginning of May, before the win at Villa, Spurs were deemed to have a 59 per cent chance of being relegated. West Ham’s chances of going down have more than doubled since then.
Bookmakers’ Odds Favour West Ham Relegation
The bookies also consider West Ham to be favourites to go down heading into this weekend’s games. The Hammers are 1/4 to be relegated, while you can get 3/1 on Spurs.
There is still an outside chance of Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace or Leeds United slipping back into the bottom three. Opta is currently projecting them as having less than a one per cent chance of going down.
Mathematically, 13th-placed Newcastle could still be relegated, but it would require them losing every game and West Ham winning every game as well as a goal difference swing of 17.
- West Ham vs Arsenal on Sunday from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm.
- Tottenham vs Leeds United on Monday from 6.30pm; kick-off 8pm.
This has become one of the most competitive Premier League relegation battles of the last two decades.