The latest twist at the bottom of the Premier League standings came on Sunday when Tottenham Hotspur secured a head-turning 2â1 victory over Aston Villa.
Almost as thrilling as the title race between Arsenal and Manchester City has been the chaotic fight to stay up in the English top flight. At one point, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and West Ham United were all in contention to join Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship next season.
As the 2025â26 campaign comes to a close, though, the relegation battle has become a two-horse race between Spurs and the Hammers. Heading into Gameweek 35, the latter had the edge in 17th place over Roberto De Zerbiâs men, but two monumental swings saw the two clubs switch places.
West Ham suffered a lopsided 3â0 defeat to Brentford on Saturday, opening the door for Tottenham to leapfrog them into safety with a win at Villa Parkâand they emphatically delivered.
With only three matches left, hereâs how the Opta supercomputer predicts the final relegation battle to play out in the Premier League.
Supercomputer Predicts 2025â26 Premier League Relegation Battle
Leeds United are well on their way to safety after securing a 3â1 victory over Burnley on Friday. The three points took Daniel Farkeâs side to 14th in the table, seven points clear of the drop zone. Although Opta expects the Whites to finish a place below where they currently sit, the club will have little complaints.
Below them are Nottingham Forest, who must wait until Monday to take on Chelsea. Even just a point at Stamford Bridge would see the Tricky Trees reach the magical 40-point mark that typically is enough to stay up. The supercomputer backs VÃtor Pereiraâs men to indeed remain safe, giving them just a 2.29% chance of relegation.
The real drama comes with Tottenham. Spurs have now tallied back-to-back league victories to obtain a slight cushion in 17th place. Still, they are by no means out of the woods and have 22.48% odds of being relegation for the first time since 1977.
Tottenhamâs biggest competitors are West Ham. This weekendâs stumble put the Hammers in the danger zone, prompting Opta to put an overwhelming 75.09% chance on Nuno EspÃrito Santoâs side playing in the Championship in 2025â26.
Around just a single point is predicted to be the difference between Tottenham and West Ham, though, which means it could come down to the final matchday to ultimately see which side joins Burnley and Wolves in the second tier next season.
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