Whisper it quietly, but West Ham United may end up relegating bitter rivals Tottenham on their way to Premier League survival – and Opta’s supercomputer believes it’s increasingly likely.
Last week, West Ham United were given just a 29.52% chance of survival by Opta’s Supercomputer after their 5-2 loss to Liverpool.
At the time, Opta believed that Spurs had a whopping 95.5% chance of staying in the Premier League despite the state of crisis they found themselves in.
Optimist or Realist? Share your number and defend it in the comments
However, after West Ham United beat Fulham 1-0 in a huge game in the relegation battle and Spurs lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace in calamitous fashion a day later, the experts at Opta have changed their mind somewhat.
West Ham handed 49.53% chance of survival as Spurs hopes take massive hit
According to their updated predictions, West Ham’s chances of securing safety in the final ten games of the season have risen dramatically to 49.53%.
Where Spurs were given just a 4.5% chance of relegation, that has jumped to 16.18% with nine games to go.
Nottingham Forest, of course, are between the two London rivals in 17th position in the Premier League table.
OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯
Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!
They are level on points with West Ham but ahead on goal difference and just a point behind Spurs.
Their chances of relegation stand at 26.88%.
West Ham have the hardest remaining fixture list but, crucially, they have all the momentum.
Indeed, ten games feels like a significant sample size and a look at the form table over that period is very promising for West Ham fans.
They’d sit ninth in the Premier League if the season started ten games ago, having won four, lost four and drawn the other two.
Clearly, a campaign doesn’t work like that, but ten games feels like enough to suggest this is now a team in relatively impressive form.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  TottenhamTottenham | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 46 | -7 | 29 |
| 17 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 43 | -15 | 28 |
| 18 |  West HamWest Ham | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 54 | -19 | 28 |
| 19 |  BurnleyBurnley | 29 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 32 | 58 | -26 | 19 |
Spurs, meanwhile, would be bottom of the league and Forest sit 17th.
There are genuine reasons to believe that West Ham will stay up instead of Tottenham.
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