With two fixtures remaining, the Premier League’s unwanted scrap to avoid the drop has come down to Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. Burnley and Wolves have already been relegated, and one of Spurs or the Hammers will join them in the Championship next season.
Tottenham sit 17th, two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham and hold the better goal difference. Roberto de Zerbi’s team were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds, missing the chance to open a four-point gap; Spurs also remain without a home league win since early December. De Zerbi has urged his players to cut out errors if they want victories in the run-in.
West Ham’s recent setback came in a 1-0 defeat to league leaders Arsenal, a game in which a late Callum Wilson equaliser was ruled out by VAR. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo admitted survival is “not in our hands” and acknowledged how tough the task ahead is, while promising his side will keep fighting.
Where the sides go next matters. Opta’s model gives Spurs roughly a 19.5% chance of relegation versus about an 80.5% chance for West Ham. West Ham travel to Newcastle United first; two days later Tottenham head to Chelsea. A Hammers victory at St James’ Park would lift them
