Opta Supercomputer revealed Arsenal’s odds to beat West Ham in a crucial fixture for their upcoming battle with Tottenham for Premier League survival.
Spurs fans face a difficult test of alliances this week, when their relegation rivals West Ham face a Sunday visit from league leaders and Spurs’ bitter rivals, Arsenal.
West Ham are currently 2 points adrift in the relegation zone behind Spurs, who themselves must face Leeds United at home the day after West Ham’s fixture. As things stand, the relegation battle is far from over, and Tottenham might not be mathematically safe until the last game of the season.
This, of course, means that it’s within Tottenahm Hotspur’s best interest that West Ham lose their home game against Spurs’ Woolwich rivals, as a Tottenham victory against Leeds would extend the gap to West Ham to 5 points and give the Hammers an almost insurmountable job.
But with Manchester City failing to secure all three points in their away trip to Everton, the league title is Arsenal’s to lose again. West Ham is probably Arsenal’s most difficult remaining fixture and possibly the last chance to throw a spanner into their title ambitions.
Opta Supercomputer has West Ham as massive underdogs as Tottenham watch on
Opta’s Supercomputer predicts that West Ham have a 42% chance of taking points off Arsenal this weekend.
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The Hammers are given a 19.3% chance to outright beat Arsenal and a 22.6% for an all-square result after the final whistle.
Arsenal are, of course, favourites to win the thing altogether, with a 58% chance to beat the East End club.
How the relegation battle might shape up afterwards
As things stand, it’s still all in Spurs’ hands to beat the drop. With their point advantage, Spurs would only need to match West Ham’s results to preserve their Premier League status.
Although PSG have shown how vastly superior they are to any European team, Arsenal are still Budapest-bound and have a real chance to win their first-ever Champions League trophy.
It’s difficult to imagine the route to a full mental recovery for Spurs fans, if Tottenham were to be relegated the same year Arsenal win both the Champions League and the Premier League.
There are few things as sweet as seeing the bitterest of your rivals fail, but it’s currently a zero-sum game for Tottenham right now, with Premier League and banter rights all at incredibly high stakes.
A theoretical draw between West Ham and Arsenal could potentially be a good result, as it puts Manchester City and Arsenal on level pegging again, and the title could come down to goal difference.