Chris Sutton says West Ham are not safe from relegation yet and has made a worrying prediction for the Man United clash.
West Ham welcome Man United to the London Stadium on Sunday in what is a crucial match for both clubs.
There has been a lot of number crunching and forecasting of late in a bid to work out what West Ham might need to stay up.
Some pundits and fans believe the Hammers have already sealed Premier League safety.
It’s easy to see why. After Leicester’s recent draw with Everton, it would take remarkable bad luck for West Ham to drop in the final four games of the season.
Essentially three of the teams below the Hammers would have to win at least two games each and David Moyes’ side not take a single point for West Ham to be relegated.
While that seems highly improbable, it is certainly not impossible.
And as the holders of the Premier League record for the club relegated with the most points – 42 – West Ham cannot afford to get ahead of themselves.
Chris Sutton says West Ham are not safe from relegation yet and makes worrying Man United prediction
But Chris Sutton says West Ham are not safe from relegation yet and has made a worrying Man United prediction.
Speaking in his BBC column, Sutton thinks West Ham need to get one more point to survive.
The problem is he believes the Hammers will be beaten by Manchester United 2-1.
So by his logic West Ham’s end to the season will be far from comfortable with that result needed in high pressure games against Brentford, Leeds and Leicester.
‘They won’t get it here’
“Things can change but, right now, I think West Ham need a point to stay up,” Sutton said.
“That would put them six points above Everton, and the Hammers have a much better goal difference.
“They won’t get it here, though. Manchester United’s squad has been stretched by injuries but they still have some real quality, especially on the counter-attack, and they are not going to blow up completely.
“Instead, United are finding a way to win games, which is testament to their manager Erik ten Hag. You would never accuse them of being overly convincing, though, which is why I think this one will be close.”
It seems West Ham are officially entering what legendary Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson called ‘Squeaky Bum Time’.
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