The race for the top four is hotting up for the likes of West Ham United and Chelsea as we enter the season run-in.
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West Ham are fifth in the Premier League table after Monday night’s 2-0 win over Leeds.
David Moyes’s Hammers are just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
West Ham have a game in hand on the Stamford Bridge side and the three clubs above them.
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West Ham have lost just three of their last 16 Premier League games. Across London, Chelsea are unbeaten since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues are being made favourites to win the battle for a place in the top four with the likes of West Ham and Tottenham.
Lifelong Chelsea fan and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson recently backed the Blues and Liverpool to finish above West Ham (Sky Sports).
But he has been forced to reassess the race for the Champions League positions, pointing out the big problem Chelsea have with West Ham.
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“Everything is going right for Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel, at the moment,” a cautious Merson told Sky Sports.
“They’ve had two big results against Liverpool and Everton to continue what has been an unbelievable run and full credit has to go to Tuchel…
“They look really good. The one problem I still see is that they don’t score a lot of goals. For all the game they had against Everton, I thought it was a game they probably could have blown the opposition away…
“Everyone who has played has been a nine out of 10 since Tuchel’s arrival. The problem is if they dip to a seven or a six out of 10, how does he react? What does he do then?
“Chelsea are now in pole position to finish in the top four after a big week of results, but it is not a foregone conclusion. They have to keep producing right until the end of the season.
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“There are not too many concerns about injuries at the moment… It’s far from job done, though. They need to keep this run going because we’ve already seen this season that things can change very quickly.
“West Ham keep winning and Tottenham are flying again. It’s lucky Chelsea have been on this brilliant run and are in the position they are in because otherwise, they’d have been out of it.”
The next few weeks could be decisive in the battle between Chelsea, West Ham and Spurs for the top four.
West Ham and Spurs have a run of difficult games on paper. But Chelsea – bar a tricky trip to Leeds – play three of the bottom four and Crystal Palace in their next six matches.
Squeezed in there is also huge six-pointer with West Ham.
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