West Ham state of play: What’s needed for the Hammers to go 14th and out of the relegation zone this weekend.
West Ham are in the thick of the tightest Premier League relegation battle for years.
The good news for David Moyes and his side is that so are eight other clubs.
Just four points separate the nine clubs from 12th to 20th with West Ham vs Southampton one of three massive relegation six-pointers this weekend.
It is the least amount of points between the teams 12th and 20th at this stage of the season in Premier League history.
Win against Southampton on Sunday and West Ham could – depending on results elsewhere – rise as high as 14th.
Lose and they could end up bottom of the table.
The stakes could not be higher as West Ham head into a spell of nine games in 27 days.
West Ham state of play: What’s needed for the Hammers to go 14th and out of the relegation zone this weekend
So what are the permutations for this game week?
West Ham state of play: What’s needed for the Hammers to go 14th and out of the relegation zone this weekend.
The reason West Ham, sat on 24 points, cannot go as high as 12th with a win is because Palace are playing Leicester. So whatever the result there it will leave one of those clubs on 28 points.
The highest West Ham can go this weekend is 14th.
In order to go 14th West Ham need league leaders Arsenal to beat injury-hit Leeds at home on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers could also do with a favour from Fulham who are away at Bournemouth. West Ham must hope for a draw or defeat for the Cherries. But a win over Saints will put Moyes’ men above Bournemouth regardless on Sunday.
The worry with that game is that Bournemouth have looked up for the fight of late and Fulham will be without top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The other big game in the relegation battle on Saturday sees Forest entertain Wolves. Whatever the result there, at least one of the clubs will end up with more points than the 27 West Ham could achieve by beating Saints.
Realistically West Ham will be hoping for a draw as that would keep Wolves firmly in the mix while giving the Hammers the chance to leapfrog Forest on goal difference.
He who dares wins – but a draw might get Hammers heads above water
But a Wolves win would also be a good result as Forest are one of the sides being heavily tipped to drop given their remaining fixtures.
If West Ham handle their business at the London Stadium they will be on 27 points and at least -9 goal difference.
Then on Monday West Ham need a favour from bitter rivals Spurs who are away at Everton. Although a draw would ensure the Toffees stay below the Hammers IF we beat Southampton.
A draw for West Ham against Southampton could lift them out of the bottom three. But only if Leicester lose by two goals to Palace and Bournemouth are defeated by Fulham.
There is little respite as the pressure turns up again on Tuesday and Wednesday with six matches including West Ham welcoming Newcastle to London.
That represents a real chance for the Hammers to put themselves in a much healthier position ahead of a trip to Fulham at the weekend.
MORE WEST HAM NEWS
West Ham get saving Grace from relegation as BBC makes big claim.
What happened during West Ham break proves it’s not all on Moyes amid toxic claims.
Foot in mouth West Ham star has just done Southampton’s team talk for them.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
