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Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes West Ham have the chance to apply maximum pressure on relegation rivals Tottenham by beating Wolves on Friday week.
The Hammers play their next Premier League fixture two days before their London rivals, and if Nuno Espirito Santo’s side win their game at the London Stadium, it would drop Spurs into the relegation zone. Merson says that could be a significant moment:
“When they play Sunderland (next on Sunday April 12th), the worst thing that could ever happen to them is if West Ham beat Wolves (on Friday, April 10th).”
“Because when they drop into that bottom three, it’s a different game, a very different game then. And then the pressure is severely, severely on them.”
Beating Wolves is by no means guaranteed
While Rob Edwards’ team are destined for relegation, they have been in pretty decent form in recent weeks. They have lost just twice since the beginning of February, having beaten top 5 contenders Aston Villa and Liverpool in consecutive matches.
Last time out, they drew 2-2 with Brentford away from home, having recovered from 2-0 down, so they are not a team to be taken lightly.
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What are the odds of West Ham being relegated?
Statisticians Opta still have the Irons as the favourites to go down, with the probability rated at 57.39%. However, that percentage has gradually decreased over the past month or so
At the beginning of March, it was as high as 72.12%, while the chances of Tottenham being relegated were as low as 4.03%. That has now increased to 27.11%.
Some are expecting a “new manager bounce” now Roberto De Zerbi has been appointed, but as Merson points out, if Spurs kick off away from home against Sunderland in the bottom three, they won’t be playing with much freedom.
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