Games are running out for teams at the foot of the Premier League to save themselves with Tottenham and West Ham trading places following a huge victory for Roberto De Zerbi's men
Nottingham Forest were the big winners of the weekend in the Premier League relegation battle as they all but clinched safety with a stunning 3-1 triumph at Chelsea.
And with Tottenham also recording a seismic away win over Aston Villa, it's West Ham who are now staring relegation in the face after dropping back into the bottom three just as the sand in the hourglass begins to run dry.
Forest have managed to put daylight between themselves and the two beleaguered London clubs in recent weeks as a result of an upturn in form which has been timed almost to perfection. Few, though, would have been expecting an afternoon to remember in the capital when Vitor Pereira made eight changes to the side that beat Aston Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final in midweek.
But they were leading inside 90 seconds at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi. And they were two goals to the good on 15 minutes when Igor Jesus diligently dispatched a penalty kick after Malo Gusto mindlessly dragged back the Brazilian's strike partner inside the area.
Cole Palmer spurned a golden opportunity to get Chelsea back into it before half-time when he failed to convert another spot-kick, given after a sickening clash of heads involving the unfortunate Jesse Derry in the Forest area.
And Awoniyi took full advantage by adding a third for Forest early in the second half to nudge them six points ahead of West Ham with three games left to play.
The weekend started badly for the Hammers, who were poor in defeat against Brentford. And things got even worse on Sunday night when Tottenham picked the perfect time to win consecutive Premier League games for the first time since August 2025, beating a much-changed Aston Villa team 2-1.
While Forest now look out of reach for West Ham, albeit not quite so mathematically, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are still in touching distance with Tottenham.
But with a trio of challenging games remaining, Spurs could retain their Premier League status without picking up another point unless West Ham can muster up something special between now and their home finale against Leeds.
As it is, Forest can almost taste safety. It also now feels like Spurs sense a route to it after weeks of darkness. For West Ham, it's now a case of hoping they can engineer one last twist to spare them from doom.
GAMES REMAINING
Nottingham Forest: Newcastle (H), Man Utd (A), Bournemouth (H)
Tottenham: Leeds (H), Chelsea (A), Everton (H)
West Ham: Arsenal (H), Newcastle (A), Leeds (H)