I understand this may be a bit tenuous, but Chelsea may well have done West Ham United’s survival bid a huge favour by beating Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final today.
Chelsea looked a completely different team following the sacking of Liam Rosenior earlier this week and, despite a few scares, probably deserved to move on to the final—particularly given their dominance in the first half when they scored through Enzo Fernández.
Chelsea resurgence could shape relegation battle
Where this impacts West Ham is twofold. Firstly, Chelsea looked much improved from their recent showing, which could have an impact when they play Nottingham Forest next weekend, as well as when they face Tottenham Hotspur in the penultimate Premier League game on May 17th.
Leeds setback creates Tottenham dilemma
However, it has also created a situation whereby Leeds’ game against Spurs on May 11th should now be a far more competitive encounter.
The Yorkshire club will be hosting Tottenham at Elland Road on that day, but it is only three days before the FA Cup final. If Leeds had made it through today’s semi, nobody could have blamed Daniel Farke for resting his best players against Spurs—particularly given Leeds could well be mathematically safe from relegation by that time.
Spurs run-in suddenly looks far less straightforward
It means a significant shift in Roberto De Zerbi’s final four games for Tottenham, which had previously looked to contain some uncompetitive fixtures.
There appears to be growing confidence amongst Spurs fans that they will go to Villa Park next weekend and get a win. But Aston Villa will still be pushing for a top-three finish, currently level on points with Manchester United and Liverpool on 58.
That is followed by a trip to Leeds, a home game against Chelsea, and they finish up by facing David Moyes’ Everton.
West Ham have not exactly enjoyed the best of timing—or indeed fortune—during what has been a difficult season. But things could now just be starting to fall in our favour.