The relegation battle: West Ham closing in on safety, but can Spurs add distance?

West Ham are closing in on the safety of 17th place after beating Fulham on Wednesday - and Spurs have a chance to add some distance when they host Crystal Palace.

Crysencio Summerville scored the only goal of the game at Craven Cottage to put the Hammers level on 28 points with Nottingham Forest - who themselves drew 2-2 with Manchester City in midweek.

It comes after the Premier League's bottom team Wolves won back-to-back games over Aston Villa and champions Liverpool, giving themselves a glimmer of a miracle survival.

• Got Sky? Watch now on the Sky Sports app 📱
• Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract 📺
• Live Premier League table | Premier League fixtures

Wolves are the form side of the bottom six and have a favourable run-in, which gives them hope of not finishing bottom.

They are three points behind second-bottom Burnley, who are nine points from safety, while West Ham occupy the final relegation spot in 18th on goal difference.

Tottenham are one point ahead of the Hammers and Forest in 16th, and will be hoping to open up a gap and pick up their first home win in the league since December 6 on Thursday evening.

Leeds remain two points ahead of Spurs and three from the drop zone, but will be nervously looking over their shoulders.

Also See:

• Got Sky? Watch now on the Sky Sports app
• Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract
• Live Premier League table
• Watch FREE Premier League highlights

With six teams fighting to avoid relegation, Sky Sports keeps track of the battle for survival…

Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp for the latest sports news, videos, features, analysis and much more

The run-in

The fixture list is in Leeds and Wolves' favour based on the opposition's league position, with Spurs, Forest, West Ham and Burnley all having more difficult games left to play. If Wolves win every game, they will reach the 40-point mark.

When are the six-pointers?

There are some crucial clashes between relegation rivals in the last three months of the season, with Leeds facing four of the bottom six in their final six fixtures, including a final-day trip to West Ham.

Here are the six-pointers that could be key in deciding the relegation battle:

• March 22: Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest, live on Sky Sports
• April 11: West Ham vs Wolves
• April 18: Leeds vs Wolves & Forest vs Burnley
• April 25: Wolves vs Tottenham
• May 2: Leeds vs Burnley
• May 9: Tottenham vs Leeds
• May 24: Burnley vs Wolves & West Ham vs Leeds

The supercomputer's relegation predictions...

After results so far this week, Wolves remain the slight favourites at 99.91 per cent to be relegated, closely followed by Burnley (99.62 per cent).

After their win at Fulham, West Ham have moved on to 52.72 per cent chance of being relegated. The Opta supercomputer has given Forest a 29.93 per cent chance of going down, along with 8.22 per cent for Spurs and 8.78 per cent for Leeds.

How many points could be needed?

In the last nine Premier League seasons, teams finishing on 36 points or more have avoided relegation.

Datawrapper This content is provided by Datawrapper, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Datawrapper cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Datawrapper cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Datawrapper cookies for this session only.

Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once

Last season, 26 points would have been enough to stay up as an exceptionally poor bottom three of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton all made an immediate return to the Championship.

Spurs took advantage of the trio's weaknesses to focus on winning the Europa League as they finished a dismal 17th on 38 points - 13 points above 18th-placed Leicester.

But that luxury for Tottenham is not there this season as they face the very real possibility of relegation to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1977.

With the teams involved in the relegation fight significantly stronger than last season, the 40-point mark could well be being eyed up.

Only three teams have been relegated with 40 points or more in the 20-team Premier League era - Sunderland (1996/97), Bolton (1997/98) and West Ham (2002/03) - the latter holding the record for the team relegated with the most points with 42.

15th: Leeds

Leeds have lost back-to-back home games and have won just once in their last seven games, leaving them 15th and three points off the bottom three.

Daniel Farke's side have won just once on the road in the league - a victory at Wolves in September - adding extra importance to their games at Elland Road.

16th: Tottenham

"It would be the shock of the century. It would be absolutely mind-blowing to think that they could disappear out of this league, but I don't think they will."

Even if Gary Neville is confident the Premier League ever-presents will not be relegated, their form says otherwise, with Spurs sitting 16th and one point from the drop.

Igor Tudor's side are on a club-record equalling 10-game winless Premier League run, are yet to win in 2026 and are battling a crippling injury crisis.

17th: Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest are now one point behind Spurs after a 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday, although they remain without a win in six league matches.

Vitor Pereira is yet to win any of his league games in charge, and earlier this week, pointed to an intense fixture list - including Europa League games - that he feels his squad is struggling with.

18th: West Ham

West Ham looked doomed at the start of the year before a huge win at rivals Tottenham kickstarted their survival bid. They have also beaten another relegation rival in Burnley since then, and picked up another huge win at Fulham on Wednesday.

The Hammers have lost only twice since in eight games since that victory in north London, giving them hope of avoiding relegation for the first time since 2011.

19th: Burnley

Burnley look likely for an immediate return to the Championship.

Scott Parker's side are nine points from safety and have only won one of their last 20 league games.

20th: Wolves

A 19-game winless start to the Premier League season seemed to have sealed Wolves' fate.

However, two victories on the spin means the Old Gold, who are 12 points from safety, need less of a major miracle to stay in the top flight for a ninth season.

Play Super 6! Play Super 6 for a chance to win £250k! Enter for free.