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It is proving to be one of the highest-quality fights for survival in Premier League history.

After wins for Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest over the bank holiday weekend, the quest for safety is hotting up.

It has been a game of who will blink first over the past couple of months with the three sides all in danger of finishing in the the third and final relegation place - Forest, Spurs and West Ham - having only lost one of their past nine Premier League games between them.

It is a battle that has had all the twists and turns, controversy and defining moments usually associated with a title race.

As West Ham found out the hard way on Saturday afternoon when they were thrashed 3-0 by Brentford, poor performances and dropped points are being punished emphatically by rivals this time around.

The improved quality of the teams in and around the drop zone means for the first time since the 2015-16 season, a team will be relegated from the Premier League with 36 points or more.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, journalist Rory Smith said: "Someone is going down with a lot of points, that is the reality of it.

"In the last two seasons, the bottom three didn't crack 30 points, and we talked a lot about the idea that the promoted teams were at such a massive financial disadvantage that they couldn't compete.

"They have all responded when the pressure has been really high. They have all found form.

"Since the game against [Manchester] City in November, Leeds have been upper‑mid‑table in terms of form. Forest have come good a little bit later on.

"And Spurs and West Ham - although they are the two in danger - one of them will go down with a lot more points than any team for quite a long time."

It moved them six points clear of 18th-placed West Ham, and restored their five-point advantage over Spurs in 17th.

Although not confirmed mathematically, the three points should be enough to seal Forest's place in the Premier League next season.

After a season marred by three managerial changes at the City Ground, Forest will be indebted to Vitor Pereira if survival is achieved.

Since replacing Sean Dyche in February, the 57-year-old has lost only two of his nine Premier League matches in charge.

Pereira's side are unbeaten in matches against Manchester City, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Chelsea.

In their past three games, Forest have remarkably scored 12 times and conceded just twice to improve their goal difference from -12 to -2. It could effectively act as an extra point at the end of the season.

Spurs, on the other hand, followed up a first Premier League win of 2026 last week by earning a vital victory against a much-changed Aston Villa side on Sunday night.

After three matchdays in the relegation zone, the win meant Spurs, last season's Europa League winners, climbed out of the bottom three and leapfrogged West Ham.

Speaking on Monday Night Club, former Manchester City and Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given said: "It's so tight now. It's between two, realistically. The rest are home and dry. Maybe not mathematically, but they are done and dusted.

"It's a huge week for Tottenham. Forget about the tactics, forget about the managers, forget about the boardroom. It's about the result. It's three points - the lift that will give the lads.

"Imagine them going into training today. A few weeks back, the Spurs stadium has been nearly empty towards the end of games. You could see them in the away end yesterday - the place was rocking.

"It's just that feeling, the human feeling of 'we've won a game of football. We're out of the relegation zone. We've flipped with West Ham'."

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the Hammers despite their precarious position.

They have actually improved significantly in the past three months and, since suffering back-to-back defeats in January, have only lost four of their past 14 Premier League matches.

But if any club are aware that it can sometimes be too little, too late, then it is West Ham.

The east Londoners have the unwanted record of accumulating the most points in the final eight games of the season (15) of any side to be relegated from the Premier League.

In more recent times, Newcastle United - the last team to be relegated from the Premier League with 36 points or more - hold the record for the longest unbeaten run at the end of a season (six games) by a team relegated to the Championship.

If Forest, Spurs and West Ham maintain their current run of form, one of the three could end the season with a similarly unwanted place in the Premier League record books.

In a season that has produced so many twists and turns, it is impossible to predict what will come next.

Since the Premier League became a 20-team format in 1995, the average number of points needed for safety has been 36.

But that will not be enough this time around given that West Ham have already reached that tally and currently occupy the third and final relegation place.

"West Ham had been the form team out of the three clubs," said Smith.

"Until the Brentford game [on Saturday], you looked at them and thought, 'Nuno [Espirito Santo] has got a really strong tactical discipline there and has shaped them into a proper team'.

"They looked totally doomed in January but Nuno took them from that and managed to craft a bit of an identity, and they did seem to put a little bit of a run together.

"So Saturday came as a real shock - against a team that hadn't won in eight games. To put in that performance having built up a little bit of steam is worrying."

According to data experts Opta, the Hammers are now favourites (77.71%) to be relegated, with Tottenham at 22.03% and Forest just 0.13%.

If the three sides continue picking up points at their current rate, then it will be the Hammers who are relegated to the second tier for the first time since 2011.

The 2023 Conference League winners are averaging 1.03 points per game, which would mean they finish the season on 39 points.

Tottenham's return of 1.06 points per game puts them on course to finish on 40 points, while Forest are on track to secure safety for a fourth consecutive season by earning a tally of 46 points.

In a relegation battle like no other, will the Premier League have one final shock in store?

Roberto de Zerbi's Spurs look like a revived outfit after claiming their second straight win - a 2-1 victory at Champions League-chasing Aston Villa.

Having been coached by three managers - Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and now De Zerbi - with strongly opposing styles this season, Spurs seem to be coming together despite the short time their new boss has had with them.

With renewed confidence paired with tactical principles that have simplified his players' decision-making process, Spurs' squad and fans will be quietly optimistic things have changed for the better and they can avoid the drop.

And De Zerbi deserves much of the credit given the way he has set up his team.

De Zerbi is usually praised for how his sides build from the back, but Spurs' defensive work stood out most against Villa on Sunday.

Unai Emery's team have opted to build short and centrally before speeding up play when space opens higher up the pitch this season - not too dissimilar from the principles De Zerbi tends to opt for in possession.

To counter this, De Zerbi asked Spurs to press aggressively while blocking the middle of the pitch.

Richarlison was key to the plan, positioning himself partly to block the pass into Villa's right centre midfielder Lamare Bogarde, while angling his body to discourage Emiliano Martinez from playing down Villa's right.

Next to him, De Zerbi opted for Conor Gallagher who marked Youri Tielemans.

At times, Richarlison pressed Martinez with Rodrigo Bentancur then stepping up from midfield to take responsibility for Bogarde.

The Spurs trio in this way ensured Villa's central midfielders were unable to receive the ball unmarked.

Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel also had important roles. Kolo Muani often positioned himself between Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen.

If Martinez played to left centre-back Mings, Kolo Muani pressed intensely while angling his run to block the pass into Maatsen.

But if Maatsen looked likely to receive freely, Pedro Porro stepped up from right-back.

Spurs reacted to these pressing triggers with an impressive level of coordination.

Villa's centre-backs and full-backs were marked which meant Martinez and Mings were limited to looking for their attackers who dropped deep centrally.

Spurs ultimately funnelled Villa's play down the middle while also setting up to have numerous players in that area of the pitch.

Tottenham were also ready to follow Villa's dropping forwards when this happened, with Kevin Danso particularly aggressive in stepping out to Ross Barkley, winning the ball and starting attacks.

When Villa played those riskier passes, Spurs' attackers immediately turned and pressed backwards, converging around the player in possession and increasing the chances of a turnover.

Villa struggled to progress the ball and Spurs in turn converted the opposition's possession into chances of their own.

It is a small sample size, but De Zerbi's Spurs have won possession in the final third 5.3 times per game on average - the highest average for any team under a manager this season, and a clear sign of intent.

In possession, Emery's 4-4-2 was pulled apart by some of the impressive rotations De Zerbi has become known for.

Danso, Antonin Kinsky and Micky van de Ven formed a wide three around Villa's front two which gave them an overload and helped them play out.

The Czech goalkeeper's ability with both feet also opened up a number of angles to help Spurs progress the ball.

Tottenham's two full-backs and two central midfielders were key to pulling Villa's shape apart.

One of the midfield two often moved wide either to drag one of Villa's midfielders with them - or to receive the ball unmarked themselves.

Joao Palhinha or Bentancur were seen dropping in to form a back three alongside the two centre-backs. This gave Spurs an overload against Villa's front two again, this time higher up the pitch.

De Zerbi took over a Tottenham side struggling for form, confidence and with a series of key players out injured.

But he has already drilled into his side a set of principles that echo what he has done at previous jobs - albeit adapting them to the quality of his players.

Spurs play short from their keeper but are more willing to go long to a target man in Richarlison than De Zerbi's Brighton were.

Given the impressive physicality of the Spurs squad, utilising a high press as a method of chance creation has been smart too.

Tudor looked to take a similar albeit less coordinated approach out of possession, but De Zerbi has built on that - not defending man-to-man across the pitch but instead asking his side to pick moments in which to win the ball back.

None of these tactics however are possible without a squad that believes in the message the coach is relaying.

In his news conferences so far, De Zerbi has been focused on one idea - that Spurs must believe in themselves, and shake off any negativity, if they are to be a Premier League side next season.

Their performance against Villa will have certainly helped.

Roberto de Zerbi had called on Tottenham to silence the voices as this traumatic and turbulent season reached the point of no return.

The new head coach referred to the negativity surrounding Spurs as he attempted to mount a late salvage operation to avoid the prospect of the most embarrassing relegation in Premier League history.

And how his players responded to his emotional call to arms, with their finest display of the campaign to secure a hugely deserved 2-1 victory at Aston Villa that leapfrogged them over West Ham and out of the relegation zone.

This was so emphatic and so transformed from what had been served up before De Zerbi's appointment on 31 March, that it's fair to ask pertinent questions.

Not just where has this version of Spurs been all season, but - more significantly - was this the moment the tide turned for them as they bid to dodge the drop?

After last weekend's vital win at Wolves, De Zerbi said: "It's like we are all crying and relegated. No, not yet. We have to die on the pitch. We have to play and we have to fight.

"It's not the best moment for us, it's a tough moment, but the losers cry. They think negatively. I don't want people close to me crying or thinking a different way to me."

Every word hit the bullseye as self-belief, unity, fierce competitiveness, quality, fight and sheer bloody-mindedness - words that have been like a foreign language at Spurs in this torrid campaign - surged through De Zerbi's side at Villa Park.

Not that the demanding Italian was totally satisfied though, as he told Match of the Day: "The season is not finished yet. We cannot be happy just for these two wins. We have to keep working with the same mentality."

In what has been a campaign of unrelenting misery, the players and supporters who celebrated with sheer joy at the end of Sunday's game may just be starting to feel salvation is in sight.

Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards analyses Tottenham Hotspur's "brave" press during their win against Aston Villa in the Premier League.

MATCH REPORT: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

It felt like a huge result for Tottenham on Sunday night.

Their 2-1 victory at Aston Villa moved Spurs out of the Premier League relegation zone - and marked two wins in a row for the first time since the second weekend of the season.

With three weeks remaining of the 2025-26 campaign, it looks like the battle to avoid the drop will go down to the wire.

Wolves and Burnley have already been consigned to the Championship for next season, but one more relegation place is still to be decided.

West Ham's 3-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday opened the door for Tottenham to climb out of the bottom three - and Roberto de Zerbi's side took full advantage.

Former Man City defender Micah Richards told BBC Match of the Day: "That's a huge result for Spurs. I didn't see that coming.

"Villa were poor, but right from the start Spurs absolutely made the most of it with their desire and intensity. They were exceptional in how they set up, they were really brave.

"Every time we make a prediction, we get it wrong - but West Ham have got it all to do.

"Spurs have maybe got a bit of momentum and they have set their standard. De Zerbi deserves a lot of credit. None of his players hid and he has given them that confidence."

Former England striker Alan Shearer added: "They won every single tackle, every single second ball and they took the risk out of their game by not playing from the back in certain circumstances.

"You need every single player at it when in desperate trouble and Spurs had that. It has been a terrible weekend for West Ham."

Nottingham Forest in 16th have played one game fewer than both Spurs and West Ham, and could go six points clear of the drop zone with a win against Chelsea on Monday (15:00 BST).

Leeds are 14th in the table with 43 points and Crystal Palace are just below them on goal difference but with a game in hand, so it looks like it will be a three-way battle between Forest, West Ham and Spurs.

In each of the past nine Premier League seasons, 36 points has been enough to secure survival.

In the 20-team era, starting from the 1995-96 season, the average number of points needed for survival by finishing 17th is 35.53.

But that tally will not cut it this season, given West Ham already have 36 points, Spurs 37 and Forest 39.

In the 30 Premier League 38-game seasons, 36 points has ensured survival 60% of the time.

That rate of survival increases to 80% for 38 points, 90% for 40 points and 100% for 43 or more points.

West Ham hold the record for the team relegated with the most points in the 20-team era - in 2002-03, the Hammers picked up 42 points but still went down.

According to data experts Opta the Hammers are now strong favourites (75.1%) to be relegated this term, with Tottenham at 22.5% and Forest just 2.3%.

Roberto de Zerbi had called on Tottenham Hotspur to silence the voices inside the club as this traumatic, turbulent season reached the point of no return.

The new head coach referred to the negativity surrounding Spurs as he attempted to mount a late salvage operation and avoid the prospect of the most embarrassing relegation in Premier League history.

And how his players responded to the Italian's emotional call to arms with their finest display of the campaign, securing a hugely deserved 2-1 victory at Aston Villa that leapfrogged them over West Ham and out of the relegation zone.

This was so emphatic, so transformed from what had been served up before De Zerbi's appointment on 31 March, that it was fair to ask pertinent questions.

Not just where this version of Spurs has been all season, but more significantly - was this the moment the tide turned for them as they bid to dodge the drop into the Championship?

West Ham's 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday had left the door ajar, adding weight to De Zerbi's rallying cry, but those who have observed Spurs on a regular basis this season could not have expected them to burst through it so forcefully.

There was something in the air before kick-off, from the moment Unai Emery's Aston Villa line-up was revealed - showing seven changes from the side that lost at Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final - to the thunderous reception the players received from their travelling fans as they came out to warm up.

Emery's teamsheet included defensive trio Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne, as well as top scorer Ollie Watkins, dropped to the bench.

It was effectively a letter of encouragement to Spurs, and a sign the Spaniard and Villa's priority was firmly on overturning that 1-0 first-leg deficit against Forest in Thursday's home return.

Their eye was not on the ball here - and how Villa's fans let them know it with a furious reaction at half-time and at the final whistle. Not that many were left at the end.

Emery's selection, considering his fifth-placed side were looking to confirm a place in next season's Champions League, would certainly have been greeted with sinking hearts in east London, where West Ham would have been looking to Villa for a favour in the battle for survival.

Following on from last weekend's vital win at Wolves, De Zerbi had said: "It's like we're all crying and relegated. No, not yet. We have to die on the pitch.

"We have to play, we have to fight. It's not the best moment for us, a tough moment, but the losers cry, they think negative and I don't want people close to me crying or to think a different way than me."

Every word hit the bullseye as self-belief, unity, fierce competitiveness, quality, fight and sheer bloody-mindedness - words that have been like a foreign language at Spurs in this torrid campaign - surged through De Zerbi's side.

From the moment Villa keeper Emi Martinez was hurried into a clearance that created a chance for Richarlison in the opening seconds, the visitors were all over their opponents in every action.

The midfield partnership of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur dominated with quality and physical power, creating and defending in equal measure.

They were too formidable for Villa and the fact the pair have only been able to start 12 games together in the league this season has not helped Spurs in their struggle.

And while the team have so often looked lost, divided and broken during the managerial tenures of Thomas Frank and interim Igor Tudor, this was a team locked tight.

Bentancur celebrated winning a first-half foul after some superb defence in his own penalty area with a clenched fist before receiving a hug from Kevin Danso.

When Palhinha did something similar in the second half, he received a kiss from striker Randal Kolo Muani.

That was a moment to delight De Zerbi as he said: "I love Palhinha like this. I don't ask players to do it, but when I see this passion I become crazy."

The body language reflected a newfound self-assurance. If Spurs had voices inside their heads, they were now positive.

Not that the demanding De Zerbi was totally satisfied as he told BBC Sport's Match of the Day: "Now I don't want to hear the positive voice.

"We have to stay focused for the next game. I think my biggest job is to help the players show their qualities. Their level is not to fight for relegation, but we have to accept and be stronger than the people who speak too much.

Emery interview gets a little tense

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Unai Emery's interview gets a little tense as he defends his rotation of the Aston Villa squad.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League - Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

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Match of the Day - 2025/26 Highlights: Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur Highlights  BBC

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery defends the rotation of his squad after his team lose a third consecutive game with a 2-1 home defeat against Tottenham.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League - Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur boss Roberto De Zerbi says his players "cannot be happy yet" after they moved out of the relegation zone after beating Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park.

MATCH REPORT: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur