Hammers News

Joe Cole feels West Ham United’s hopes of Premier League survival may ride or die on just one of their remaining seven top-flight fixtures.

Beat rock-bottom Wolves at the London Stadium on the first league game back after the international break and FA Cup, and the Hammers will be out of the drop zone by the time Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Leeds even kick off.

There are currently only four points separating West Ham United from Leeds in 15th.

Is this the WORST prediction of the season? 😂

Rob Earnshaw predicts West Ham to get just 3 more points…

Nuno’s side have picked up a staggering 12 more than Tottenham since beating their arch rivals away from home on January 17th.

Joe Cole cannot shake the feeling that, if they extend that tally to 15 with a home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers – shoving Spurs into the bottom three as a result – this would have a massive psychological impact on the mindset of both sides

Beat Wolves and West Ham United will stay in the Premier League, Joe Cole thinks

“So, it’s the international break. Then it’s the FA Cup, then Wolves at home,” Cole says on The Dressing Room podcast. “That, for me, is West Ham’s season.

“Sometimes, they are the hardest games to win. When you’re in a relegation fight, you go into games and sometimes it’s easier. But when the onus is on you…

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“The fans go to the stadium, West Ham fans are like, ‘We have to win this game’. So, it’s a different challenge for the lads. But that, for me, is the game.

“If West Ham win that game, I think they stay up. That’s how important it is. Momentum in football, everyone expects them to win it. The players know they have to win it. If they win, it lifts the whole place up.

“But if you don’t win it…”

Where would West Ham be right NOW if we hadn’t sacked Graham Potter? 🤔

Let's here your views!

The Hammers can leapfrog Tottenham while Leeds face Manchester United

Igor Tudor is already under near-intolerable levels of pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The interim boss was subjected to another fierce round of boos after Spurs slipped to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat by relegation rivals Nottingham Forest; their last Premier League outing for two weeks.

Next up is a trip to a Sunderland side with a fine home record, further buoyed by their derby victory over Newcastle. Leeds face Manchester United at Old Trafford, while Nottingham Forest host Champions League-chasing Aston Villa.

West Ham not only have the advantage of going first on matchday 32, then, they also have comfortably the easiest game on paper.

“You’re right [about] that,” Carlton Cole says in response to his namesake Joe. “And I think Nuno would have addressed that [after the Aston Villa defeat]. After the game, he would have said, ‘Listen, our next game at home is against Wolves, my old club’.

“Nuno, he can sink two ships here in one swift move! Wolves are already sunk. They’re gone. So he’s put that to bed.

“But Nottingham Forest? They did him dirty [sacking Nuno in August]. Spurs? They did him dirty. So those are the two clubs he’s thinking, ‘Relegation fodder! I’m putting you lot down. I’m sinking this ship!’.”

Paco Jemez is already well on his way to being something of a cult hero at West Ham – now he may just have cemented that status with a revelation about bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

West Ham and Spurs are locked in a fight for Premier League survival heading into the last seven games of the season.

The Hammers were comfortably beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa while Tottenham Hotspur were being thumped 3-0 at home by relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

It means West Ham now trail Spurs by one point.

West Ham coach Jemez snubbed Spurs and now he could send them down

And Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can pile the pressure on Tottenham by dumping them into the bottom three with a win over Wolves at home after the international break – before Igor Tudor’s side play Sunderland away the following day.

If West Ham do manage to survive at the expense of Spurs, it is fair to say Hammers fans would absolutely love it.

What would you say if Paco Jemez took Nuno’s job?

He's certainly made a big impact…

One man who has been key to West Ham even being in with a chance of staying up is Paco Jemez.

The no-nonsense coach was drafted in as Nuno’s new assistant at the turn of the year and has been praised by players and fans for his impact.

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Ironically that started with West Ham’s last gasp 2-1 win at Tottenham back in January which sparked a run of just two defeats in 12 games for the Hammers.

The former Ibiza manager’s influence has also been noted by pundits, with Jamie Carragher saying Jemez can be the difference in West Ham staying up.

Now Jemez has made a Tottenham Hotspur revelation that will delight West Ham fans.

Not only has Jemez helped the Hammers close a 12-point gap on Spurs to just one point, he also turned them down.

West Ham Central has posted Jemez’s claim on X, stating: “Paco Jemez says he rejected an offer to join Nuno at Tottenham a few years ago.”

Where would West Ham be right NOW if we hadn’t sacked Graham Potter? 🤔

Let's here your views!

Just when West Ham fans thought Jemez couldn’t get any better.

Jemez’s impact has gone beyond tactics.

The Spaniard has resonated with Hammers fans, most notably when Jemez read the riot act to Nuno on the touchline over his tactics.

Nuno wanted to bring on Max Kilman to see out a game. But Jemez revealed afterwards that he was telling the Portuguese to make a more attacking sub instead.

West Ham supporters love to see that kind of passion and Jemez also showed he meant business and had not come to east London to be a ‘yes man’ for the head coach.

Now it has been revealed he snubbed Spurs, Jemez will only further endear himself to the Hammers faithful.

He will become a bona fide West Ham cult hero if the Irons stay up over Spurs.

The Hammers likely need at least three wins – and perhaps a draw – from their remaining fixtures to give themselves a realistic chance of survival, though the exact number could shift depending on results around them.

Crucially, there are still winnable games on the schedule. Home fixtures will be key, with the London Stadium needing to become a fortress for the run-in. But there are also tricky away trips where simply picking up a point could prove vital.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are dealing with their own pressure. Their run-in is mixed, with a combination of sides pushing for Europe and fellow strugglers.

That could work in West Ham’s favour but goal difference may yet prove decisive and the Hammers’ is vastly inferior as things stand.

West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest are all battling for Premier League survival – and Spurs have been hit with an almighty blow.

Indeed, this season’s relegation battle is incredibly tight and while Spurs sit above West Ham United by just a point in the Premier League table, that could all change this weekend.

Optimist or Realist? Share your number and defend it in the comments

Igor Tudor’s side actually host Forest on Sunday while West Ham play away at Aston Villa in a hugely dramatic day of Premier League action.

There is a very real chance that the Hammers could overtake at least one of them heading into the final international break of the season.

In the build-up to that Forest game, Spurs have confirmed that first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario will undergo surgery next week on a hernia.

Vicario set for surgery as Spurs must turn to Antonin Kinsky

An official statement on Tottenham’s official website read: “We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario will undergo surgery next week on a hernia.

“The minor procedure for the Italy international goalkeeper has been timed to have as minimal an impact on our season as possible.

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“Guglielmo will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately, and it is hoped that he could return to action within the next month.”

Would you take relegation if it meant that David Sullivan would leave?! 🤔

Not a nice position to be in – but what would YOU choose if you had to?

That is a major blow for Spurs. Their back-up goalkeeper is Antonin Kinsky – who was linked with West Ham United during the January transfer window.

Though clearly a talented ‘keeper, Kinsky made two high-profile mistakes during Tottenham’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid earlier this month.

Tudor was criticised for his handling of the situation, having subbed Kinsky off 17 minutes into that game earlier this month and for subsequently supposedly ignoring the distraught goalkeeper on his way past.

The idea, then, that Tottenham have to turn to a goalkeeper who has been dealing with that of late is hardly ideal for them ahead of such a huge run of games, particularly considering the fact that the north London side are already missing so many other key players through injury.

West Ham currently have all the momentum in the relegation battle despite sitting a point behind Spurs and they could pass their bitter rivals in the table imminently.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Roberto De Zerbi was being linked with West Ham but now he could help send them down as the new manager of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Hammers pulled level on points with Spurs in the Premier League relegation battle after a hard-fought point in a 1-1 draw against Man City.

Now West Ham have a watching brief as Tottenham face a daunting trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.

Since Nuno Espirito Santo’s side beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at the start of January, West Ham have closed a 12-point gap.

West Ham concern as Spurs close on De Zerbi

It is West Ham’s form which has piled the pressure on Spurs and made them favourites for the drop in the eyes of many.

There is a four-way fight between West Ham, Tottenham, Leeds and Nottingham Forest to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship.

Finish this sentence!

Mavropanos' performance is the best by a West Ham defender since… ?

With the Hammers in fine form and Tottenham’s performances and results desperately bad, interim boss Igor Tudor is already in line for the sack.

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Tottenham’s crisis should be music to West Ham’s ears.

But the reality could now be very different given developments out of north London.

West Ham will be concerned as Spurs close in on game-changer boss Roberto De Zerbi.

When the Hammers’ hierarchy were looking at candidates to replace David Moyes, hot-headed Italian tactician De Zerbi was on West Ham’s shortlist.

However, fiery De Zerbi’s fallout at Brighton put off a number of potential suitors such as West Ham and he ended up taking over at Marseille.

Fiery De Zerbi can change relegation picture at Tottenham

A tempestuous tenure in France came to an end when De Zerbi left Marseille by mutual consent a month ago, following a 5-0 defeat to rivals Paris Saint-Germain and amid a poor run of form.

Now, though, De Zerbi looks set to return to England as Tottenham’s last roll of the dice to stay in the Premier League.

They say never fall in love with a loan player, but we’ve all done it before 😂

The Telegraph recently claimed talks have been held at Spurs about appointing De Zerbi if they manage to avoid relegation with Manchester United also lurking.

Fabrizio Romano has also claimed De Zerbi is Tottenham’s “dream candidate” to take over from Tudor.

The Sun reports Tottenham are ‘in the process of replacing Tudor’ with the Liverpool match expected to be the Croatian’s last in charge.

That could be bad news for the Hammers with Manchester United site The Peoples’ Person reporting that personal terms are the final hurdle for Tottenham before De Zerbi takes over.

One thing that is assured with De Zerbi is that he will get his team fired up, pressing hard and working tirelessly.

That has been a feature of all his sides from Sassuolo to Brighton and Marseille.

Regardless of Tottenham’s terrible form, the north Londoners clearly have quality players.

So West Ham and co will be justifiably worried about De Zerbi’s impact if he gets those players grafting for results in the last eight games of the season.

One look at the remaining fixtures suggests Tottenham have several winnable games in order to fend off the threat of West Ham.

Tottenham have winnable matches against Forest, Sunderland, Brighton, Wolves, Leeds and Everton to come during the run-in.

De Zerbi-ball – and the Italian’s clear passion on the side line – would also likely be a hit with Spurs fans so he could lift the whole club at the worst possible time for West Ham.

Assuming personal terms won’t be an issue, the Hammers will just have to hope Tottenham are a lost cause for any manager right now.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Fists clenched, chest pumped, Konstantinos Mavropanos knew what this meant. Not only for West Ham United, but for their bitter Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

After what was the umpteenth block of a performance which warrants immediate entry into the annals of Hammers history, the coming of the full time whistle saw Dinos Mavropanos as relieved as any of the 60,000 or so home fans in a stadium rocking – this time – for all the right reasons.

How Tottenham could do with a centre-half as committed, as imposing, as proactive as he, former West Ham United and Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart wondered aloud on BBC’s Match of the Day.

Finish this sentence!

Mavropanos' performance is the best by a West Ham defender since… ?

You can keep your Argentine World Cup winners and your Dutch speed demons. Mavropanos has never played better in a West Ham shirt. To a man, Nuno Espirito Santo’s backline was immense from minute one to minute, what, 96?

Unfortunately for those in the north of the capital – those based in N17, anyway – neither Cristian Romero nor Micky van de Ven appear to have even a fraction of Mavropanos’ heart, discipline or will between them.

Joe Hart thinks Tottenham need a player like West Ham United’s Konstantinos Mavropanos

“What a point it is for West Ham,” said Hart, who played 33 games for the two London giants towards the end of his goalkeeping career. “I am sure that will just keep their momentum going.

“They look really united. You look at Tottenham at the moment and you don’t think you are going to get that sort of performance, which is what is required when you are struggling down at the bottom.”

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Hart paid particular notice to one of the four shots Mavropanos blocked on an evening in which he also recorded ten clearances while even scoring a goal; The first centre-back to score for West Ham since 2023, away to Arsenal.

Mavropanos was poleaxed by a thunderous Erling Haaland volley to the face. He carried on though. Of course he did.

“Sometimes, it’s about taking those blocks,” added Hart. “Like the Mavropanos one to the grill, that’s what you need to be doing.

“Whether the other [relegation-threatened] teams are capable of that remains to be seen.”

Hammers have ‘massive advantage’ over Tottenham and Nottingham Forest

Since beating Igor Tudor’s flailing, free-falling charges on January 17th, West Ham have accumulated 13 more points than Tottenham.

After leapfrogging Nottingham Forest, at least until Vitor Pereira’s side host Fulham on Sunday at 2pm, a likely defeat away to Liverpool will see West Ham and Spurs enter matchday 31 level on points.

Who was West Ham’s MOTM vs Man City and why?!

“It’s a massive psychological advantage, when you’ve been in the relegation zone for so long and you see yourselves out of it…” said Ashley Williams, the former Swansea City captain and Everton stalwart.

“Those Forest and Spurs players are going to bed tonight knowing they have to win tomorrow. They had to before, but now they absolutely have to – especially Forest.

“You don’t want to see yourself beneath that line.”

Mavropanos ends his 86-game Premier League wait for a goal

The last time a centre-half got himself on a Premier League scoresheet for West Ham, funnily enough, came via Mavropanos’s sizeable noggin.

Scoring in a 2-0 win away to Arsenal and an equaliser against Manchester City; he certainly picks his moments.

“I think from the whole team, the effort was amazing because we didn’t let them create something really dangerous in open play,” a delighted, presumably still-dazed Mavropanos said after notching what was only a second goal in 95 games.

“Obviously, they had also some chances from set-pieces when we were defending deep, but I think our defending was amazing. We knew that it was going to be a tough game, as the opponent is really tough, and it’s an important point for us.”

“We’ve trained a lot on corners and it was finally a moment for me to score because it’s been a while,” the former Arsenal youngster beamed, inadvertently putting his old employers nine points clear at the summit.

“I’m really happy that I did it in this important game, and especially at home, because it’s my first goal at home. I hope that I gave a lot of happiness to the fans as well.

“We had a really tough first half of the season, but we worked so hard, and now we can show it on the pitch as well. We just want to keep it up and keep the momentum.”

Formerly of West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, while we do not want to put words in Jermain Defoe’s mouth, one suspects he is hoping Nottingham Forest are the loser of this three-horse race for survival.

Two of the ex-England striker’s old employers are situated in the Premier League’s bottom five heading into matchday 30.

Since winning in North London in mid-January, West Ham have claimed 12 more points than Tottenham and eight more than Nottingham Forest. Momentum is very much in Nuno Espirito Santo’s favour, then, even if an injury to star man Crysencio Summerville dents that new-found confidence.

Jermain Defoe is a huge Summerville fan. He and the rest of us will have to hope that Jarrod Bowen and co can do the business without the flying Dutchman when Manchester City come to town on Saturday evening though.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Defoe indicates that a West Ham side even without Summerville may have a greater chance of remaining a Premier League club than their bitter rivals from North London.

“Yeah, it’s a massive chance [Tottenham go down],” says Defoe, who left West Ham for Spurs in January 2004. “I think all of a sudden the players have to understand that it’s the reality.

“When I look at the other teams, when I look at Forest, I see a team that’s fighting. They’ve got matchwinners and they’ve experienced this before.

“I look at West Ham; again, a team that’s fighting. A team that’s got matchwinners. I mean, that young Summerville, I love watching him play.

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“I look at the performances. Not so much the results. I look at the performances because when you perform well, eventually, you get results. Even Leeds, I look at some of their performances.

“Those three teams are actually playing well, and then I look at Tottenham. At the minute, it doesn’t even look like we’re winning any football match.”

Summerville produced a ‘magnificent’ finish to beat Fulham in West Ham’s most recent Premier League outing. In stark contrast, Tottenham went to Craven Cottage and were lucky to only lose 2-1. That is one of five league matches Spurs have lost in succession.

Atletico deepened the gloom hanging over Igor Tudor at the Wanda Metropolitano in midweek too; a 5-2 thumping which leaves Tudor in a very unique position of being an interim head coach in real danger of the sack.

With Liverpool to come away from home on Sunday, it does not get any easier for the beleaguered ex-Juventus and Marseille boss.

“I watched the game against Fulham away. The manager came out and alluded to some of the referee’s decisions, but I thought, ‘You know what? The fact is, in that game, we didn’t even look like winning.’ Fulham should have scored four!” Defoe argues.

“It’s week after week; conceding too many goals and not really having a style in terms of how we play, how we’re going to affect games and score goals, or get our matchwinners to perform.”

West Ham can leapfrog Tottenham if they beat Manchester City – a tall order admittedly – and Spurs lose at Anfield.

A hand grenade has just been rolled into the Premier League relegation battle by a mystery Spurs star and rivals West Ham and Nottingham Forest will be rubbing their hands with glee.

With nine games to go in the Premier League relegation battle, it looks like a four-way fight between West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Leeds to avoid the dreaded drop.

Spurs and the Hammers were fortunate the three promoted clubs were so woeful last season as they finished 17th and 14th respectively without ever being in any real danger of going down.

This season is a different story altogether and rejuvenated West Ham’s remarkable turnaround since January is piling pressure on Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

West Ham and Forest the big winners after Spurs civil war claim

The Hammers have closed a seven-point gap on Forest and a 12-point gap to bitter rivals Spurs in the last two months.

Ironically, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Irons started their turnaround with a last gasp win at Tottenham.

Now West Ham can climb out of the relegation zone with a positive result against Man City, for 24 hours at least.

With Forest and Tottenham not in action until Sunday and facing Fulham and Liverpool respectively, West Ham can rise above both with a victory.

The Hammers are undoubtedly the form team in the relegation scrap. But Forest are capable of picking up positive results too as their 2-2 draw at Man City last time out has proved.

Spurs, though, are in freefall and are a complete crisis case on all fronts.

With 12 injuries, suspensions, the crowd up in arms, another manager on the brink and players at their lowest ebb, Tottenham are fast becoming favourites for the drop in the eyes of many.

In fact Spurs are the only English top-flight club yet to win a league match in 2026, having gone 11 games without victory.

While Hammers are on the up, mystery Spurs star ‘isn’t bothered’ about relegation

The Champions League offered no respite in midweek with the disastrous 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid.

Hammers fans would love nothing more than to stay up at the expense of their rivals.

How would YOU set the Hammers up against Man City? ⚒️ v 🩵

Three at the back? Another start for Kante and Pablo?

So West Ham and Nottingham Forest will relish a mystery star’s Tottenham row leak which has emerged in the wake of their Madrid mauling.

Teams scrapping to survive will take any potential advantage or edge over their opponents at this stage of the season.

Tottenham, Forest and Leeds will be delighted Crysencio Summerville has picked up a knock for example.

But the news seems to go from bad to worse for Spurs – and that is music to the ears of Nuno and Vítor Pereira.

According to The Athletic journalist Jay Harris, something of a civil war is breaking out in the Tottenham dressing room.

While West Ham’s players were filmed celebrating together in the dressing room after making the FA Cup quarter-finals this week, it seems Tottenham’s changing room is at loggerheads.

Harris claims some Tottenham players who are ‘determined to arrest the team’s decline’ are angered by the lack of application from some of their teammates, who ‘they believe are not motivated to help their cause’.

The report even contains a leak from a mystery player revealing one of his team-mates is not worried about Tottenham being relegated – because he believes he ‘can and will leave the club this summer’ regardless.

West Ham and Forest are the big winners as chaos reigns supreme at Spurs.

Tottenham seem to be the team circling the Premier League plughole right now.

And as the Hammers and Tricky Trees show unity and fight, Spurs lack leadership and togetherness just as the season enters the most important final furlong.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Back in 2002/03, Joe Cole was part of a West Ham United side who famously suffered relegation from the Premier League despite racking up 42 points under Glenn Roeder.

A quarter of a century later, the Upton Park graduate predicts that Nuno Espirito Santo’s current crop will end 2025/26 with one fewer than the side of Paolo di Canio, David James, Trevor Sinclair and more.

But still enough, Joe Cole feels, to ensure Premier League football at West Ham United beyond the coming summer.

OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯

Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!

Joe Cole thinks West Ham United will relegate Tottenham Hotspur

West Ham are just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur and level with Nottingham Forest in 17th. Spurs travel to Liverpool on Sunday, albeit life is not much easier for Nuno as Manchester City come to town.

“So before we come on air, we looked at the Spurs, Nottingham Forest, and then West Ham’s remaining fixtures,” Cole says on the Dressing Room podcast.

“This is me, right? I’ve gone with Forest [finishing] on 43 points, West Ham on 41 points, and Spurs on 38 points, being relegated. So it’s going right down to the wire.”

Carlton Cole, the striker who helped fire Sam Allardyce’s side to a play-off final victory over Blackpool following their most recent relegation in 2011, is setting his sights even higher than namesake Joe.

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“West Ham are going to finish the season on 45 points,” a bullish, albeit possibly biased Carlton argues. “Forest are going to get 37 points, and Spurs are going to be out of it by April on 32 points.”

Statisticians Opta still believe that relegation is more likely than survival for West Ham at this stage. Yet, taking a staggering 12 more points than Spurs since beating their London neighbours on January 17th, the momentum is very much in their favour.

West Ham have also accumulated eight more points than a Forest side now onto their fourth manager of the season. A campaign which began with Nuno sacked in late-August looks set to end with Vitor Pereira in the dugout, although it is testament to the madness of Evangelos Marinakis that another sacking does not seem totally implausible.

Crysencio Summerville is being assessed after Brentford blow

An injury picked up by star winger Crysencio Summerville does dent that new-found confidence though.

A source has told Hammers News that Summerville picked up a calf knock against Brentford last night. A blow, yes, but at least this is not a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue which forced him to miss eight months of action in 2025.

If Summerville is out, who do YOU want to see start on the left?

While Nuno Espirito Santo is determined to challenge for FA Cup glory – a penalty shoot-out victory over the Bees means West Ham will face Leeds in the quarter-finals – Premier League survival remains the priority.

A victory at Wembley would be wonderful. An evening to rival that Prague party of 2023. But you only need look at Wigan Athletic – a third-tier side these days – to understand just how damaging relegation can be.

The Latics dropped out of the top flight just days after Ben Watson’s header stunned Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. Thirteen years and four more relegations later, they are yet to return.

Forget ENIC, Daniel Levy, Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor – Tottenham Hotspur could be relegated simply because of the scintillating performances of one West Ham star.

Two months ago today West Ham had just lost 2-1 at home to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, cutting Nuno Espirito Santo’s side seven points adrift of safety and 12 away from bitter rivals Spurs.

At that time it would have seemed laughable that the Hammers would catch Tottenham Hotspur up, let alone make them arguably the favourites for the drop heading into the last nine games of the season.

But that is exactly what has happened, with West Ham’s Premier League revival actually being sparked by a last gasp win at Spurs.

Deeney says Tottenham’s biggest problem plays for rivals West Ham

After their 1-0 win over Fulham in midweek, West Ham pulled to within one point of 16th-placed Tottenham, who then lost 3-1 at home to Palace a day later.

While the Hammers have hit their best form for over two years, Spurs are very much the opposite.

When was the last time a West Ham player excited you so much?! 😍

Igor Tudor has a thankless task on his hands with Tottenham stuck in a downward spiral as they circle the Premier League plughole for the second season running.

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Like West Ham’s supporters, Tottenham fans have a plethora of grievances against their club over the situation they are in.

As well as the owners, interim boss Tudor is the latest in the firing line in north London.

However, Tottenham’s biggest problem is actually West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville.

That’s according to Troy Deeney, who suggests the flying Dutchman could be the reason Spurs get relegated.

Naming Summerville in his BBC Sport team of the week after a seventh goal in 10 games, Deeney said the Hammers have the man to help them dump their bitter rivals Tottenham into the Championship.

Deeney: West Ham’s flying Dutchman Summerville could send Spurs down

“It feels like week after week we are talking about this guy,” Deeney said.

“He has been fantastic for West Ham, cutting in on his right foot, and scoring goals. He might be one of West Ham’s better buys, which is interesting because people thought he was a waste of time earlier in the season.

If you think I’m talking rubbish by naming this team vs Brentford – let me know why 👇

Alternatively, feel free to let me what (if anything) I've got spot on 😂

“He has come in and is now doing really well – getting the winner at Fulham on Wednesday.

“Could he be the reason why Spurs go down?”

West Ham were enduring a nightmare season up to that defeat against Forest.

So who could have imagined this potential dream ending that is now on the cards.

The Hammers will just be ecstatic to stay up no matter how they achieve it.

But West Ham fans made it clear who they want to see drop when they chanted “Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you” after the win at Fulham.

There is even a scenario where the Hammers could throw another spanner in the works for Arsenal’s title hopes in May while potentially pushing Tottenham closer to relegation in the process.

The bad news for Spurs is that Summerville has the carrot of a place in Holland’s World Cup squad dangling in front of him just to keep his focus as sharp as his footwork.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Former West Ham United manager Harry Redknapp believes that Tottenham may now be favourites to go down this season ahead of the Hammers due to their disastrous form.

This season’s relegation battle involving West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham is fascinating.

Unless one is of a Tottenham or Millwall persuasion, it feels like the world is wondering just how things would play out if it was Spurs who were relegated instead of West Ham.

OK, this might actually be happening… 🤯

Image this; West Ham stay up at Spurs' expense!

Indeed, West Ham could overtake Spurs in the relegation battle reasonably soon and Redknapp believes the north London side could in fact be favourites for the drop – despite being a point ahead of West Ham.

Redknapp thinks Tottenham’s performances are a “disaster”

Redknapp told talkSPORT: “Four or five weeks ago, I really couldn’t see Tottenham being involved in a relegation scrap. Every week that’s gone by and it’s got worse. West Ham are now playing very well, which is great.

“Forest picked up a big point the other night, you know. The only other side getting sucked in now is Leeds. Yeah, they’ve got sucked into that battle as well.

“I thought they were clear because they played very well. They’ve had a good season, played very well well. But Tottenham are bang in it now, I must be truthful. They’re looking like, you know, they could even be favourites out of the four to go. I mean, it’s that desperate.”

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Having managed both clubs to success, Redknapp does feel well-placed to comment.

Redknapp isn’t wrong, either.

Spurs do not look like a team, an accusation that could have well been made about West Ham prior to their turnaround in form from late January onwards.

Where West Ham have come together and have thrived in the face of adversity, Spurs have crumbled.

Even with difficult games to come, one can see where West Ham might hurt teams. There is reason to believe they’ll take something from their upcoming clashes against Manchester City and Aston Villa.

It’s impossible to say that about Spurs, on the other hand. Clearly, that will be good news for every West Ham supporter here in east London and beyond.

West Ham lifted themselves out of a crisis following the defeats to Wolves and Forest in early January, all while Spurs were plunging themselves even deeper into one.

Only a point splits the two sides but all the momentum is with West Ham United right now.

Would any Spurs fan take the position they now find themselves in over West Ham’s? That seems doubtful and it certainly isn’t true the other way around.