West Ham’s 2026 edition of the Great Escape is very much on – now Nuno Espirito Santo must lead his side to victory in these four games to secure Premier League survival.
The Hammers are alive and kicking in the Premier League relegation battle after a 1-0 win at in-form Fulham on Wednesday night.
West Ham spent just 14 minutes outside the relegation zone as Crysencio Summerville’s 65th minute goal coincided with Man City taking a 2-1 lead against Nottingham Forest.
While the Hammers held on for the win, the Tricky Trees equalised to stay above Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on goal difference in the safety of 17th.
West Ham can get 12 more points to reach magic 40 and stay up
The results have piled pressure on Spurs ahead of their game against Crystal Palace and Leeds, who lost at home to Sunderland.
The 2026 edition of the Great Escape is very much on for the Irons, though.
Who was your MOTM against Fulham and why? 🤔
Now win these four games and West Ham will stay in the Premier League.
Nuno privately targeted six games for the Hammers to survive recently – and Fulham was one of them.
West Ham’s board told Nuno and his players Fulham was ‘huge’ – and they made it clear all games are now “must wins”.
The Hammers started the final 10-game relegation run-in doing just that.
West Ham now have 28 points with nine games remaining.
Hammers News has analysed the remaining fixtures for each of the four clubs battling to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship.
And we forecast 40 points will now be enough to survive, with 41 possibly needed if West Ham cannot reduce their goal difference significantly in the run-in.
After Forest drew 2-2 with Pep Guardiola’s side and Villa lost 4-1 at home to Chelsea, suddenly West Ham’s next two fixtures don’t look as daunting.
Hammers will stay up with wins over Wolves, Palace, Everton or Brentford and Leeds
But Nuno will still look at those matches as bonus balls.
The games West Ham must now win to get to 40 points and survive are Wolves at home, two from Palace away, Everton at home or Brentford away and Leeds at home on the final day.
Three HUGE points 😍 Rate West Ham’s chances of survival in just one word 👇
Any points the Hammers garner from Man City, Villa, Arsenal or Newcastle will be deemed bonuses.
Assuming West Ham get those wins on the board and make it to 40 points, let’s look at predicted points totals for the three relegation rivals.
If our forecast proves correct, it could be Forest relegated on goal difference after finishing level on 37 points with Tottenham come what May.
Predicted final points totals:
West Ham: 12 more points, final tally 40 points.
Leeds: 8 more points, final tally 39 points.
Spurs: 8 more points, final tally 37 points.
Forest: 9 more points, final tally 37 points.
Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:
| Team | Remaining fixtures (Opponent + H/A) |
|---|---|
| West Ham United | Manchester City (H), Aston Villa (A), Wolves (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), Arsenal (H), Newcastle United (A) and Leeds United (H) |
| Nottingham Forest | Fulham (H), Spurs (A), Aston Villa (H), Burnley (H), Sunderland (A), Chelsea (A), Newcastle United (H), Man United (A) and Bournemouth (H) |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Sunderland (A), Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A), Leeds United (H), Chelsea (A) and Everton (H) |
| Leeds United | Crystal Palace (A), Brentford (H), Man United (A), Wolves (H), Bournemouth (A), Burnley (H), Spurs (A), Brighton (H) and West Ham (A) |
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