West Ham United’s Champions League dream is still very much alive.
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The Hammers sit fifth in the Premier League table going into the weekend’s fixtures.
With Leicester pulling away in third place it is looking increasingly like a five-way battle between West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton for fourth spot and the last Champions League place.
But it has not been lost on West Ham fans that David Moyes’s side could finish fourth and MISS OUT.
That’s if English clubs outside the top four win the Champions League and Europa League.
Unai keeps Champions League dream alive for West Ham
It is a scenario that could happen to West Ham should they leapfrog Chelsea and the Blues end up winning Europe’s top competition AND Arsenal win the Europa League.
Chelsea have the upper hand going into their semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
But former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has given West Ham hope that fourth will still secure Champions League football.
That’s after he came back to haunt his old club by overseeing a 2-1 win vor Villareal in their Europa League semi-final first leg against the Gunners.
Although Arsenal have the away goal, Villareal are now favourites to make the final where most likely face Manchester United.
Some West Ham fans feel it would be just their luck to finish fourth after their best season for 35 years and still miss out on the Champions League.
Best and worst case scenarios for West Ham this weekend
But it will take some unexpected results now to make that happen.
So what does the picture look like for West Ham domestically this weekend?
The Hammers do not play until Monday night against Burnley. The situation is simple for Moyes’s boys, they need to win four of their last five games to have a realistic chance of making the Champions League spot.
If Leicester beat Southampton tonight they will be 10 points clear of West Ham – effectively sealing a Champions League spot.
On Saturday Chelsea face a potentially tough game against a Fulham side fighting for their lives to stay up.
Meanwhile Everton have a difficult game against Aston Villa.
Everton can only go above West Ham with a handsome win.
Crunch weekend in the race for the Champions League
But Chelsea could stretch their lead over the Hammers to six points – effectively seven with the goal difference – with victory.
A Fulham win would give West Ham huge motivation going into Monday’s clash at Turf Moor.
On Sunday Liverpool have a tough game at in-form rivals Man United – a fixture that will give West Ham plenty of hope of staying above the Reds.
There is every chance Tottenham could leapfrog the Hammers, though, as they face already relegated Sheffield United at home.
The best case scenario is wins for Southampton, Fulham, Villa, Man United and Sheffield United followed by a West Ham victory on Monday night.
That would see West Ham level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea, four points ahead of Liverpool, five above Spurs and six better than Everton with four games to go.
If results don’t go West Ham’s way the Champions League dream won’t be over, but it will start to look very difficult and focusing on securing a Europa League spot may become Moyes’s priority.
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