West Ham Schedule Puts Tottenham Under Pressure in Relegation Fight
West Ham schedule pressure is back at the center of the Premier League race after West Ham lost 3-0 at Brentford and Tottenham beat Aston Villa 2-1 the following day. West Ham sit in the bottom three and are one point adrift of Tottenham with three games left, but the gap can still swing quickly across the next two fixtures.
West Ham and Tottenham
Sunday brings West Ham vs Arsenal at 4.30pm, with coverage from 4pm, while Tottenham face Leeds United on Monday at 8pm, with coverage from 6.30pm. Those matches are the next chance for both clubs to shape a relegation battle that has become one of the tightest in the league.
West Ham’s defeat at Brentford kept them in the bottom three, and Spurs moved out of it after back-to-back wins under Roberto De Zerbi. Nuno Espirito Santo now has a side that can create breathing room, but the margin remains thin enough that one bad result would drag the fight straight back into the final two matches.
Nuno Espirito Santo
Nothing can be decided mathematically in the next round, yet the table can still change the pressure on both clubs. If Spurs open up a four-point gap, Nuno Espirito Santo's side will have very little room for manoeuvre and will be relying on two slip ups from their rivals in their final two games.
The numbers lean against West Ham. Opta’s supercomputer gives them more than 80 per cent chance of going down, while Spurs are on 19.3 per cent; at the beginning of May, Spurs were at 59 per cent. The bookies have West Ham at 1/4 to be relegated and Spurs at 3/1.
January 17 Rematch
There is a twist in West Ham’s recent form line. Since January 17 they have been the sixth best team in the Premier League, and that run included a 1-0 win over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on that date.
That form has not removed the danger. West Ham remain the final team in the bottom three, while Tottenham’s small cushion is built on two straight victories and could vanish fast if Leeds and Arsenal both force them to chase again before the season’s last two matches.
