West Ham’s survival hopes remain in their own hands

After this weekend’s set of results down the bottom end of the Premier League, West Ham isn’t out of the relegation battle just yet.

West Ham fans could have been forgiven for thinking that their 4-0 hammering of Norwich at Carrow Road saw them virtually safe, but after Watford, Aston Villa and Bournemouth all matched those three points, things are back to being in the balance with just three matches left.

Both Villa and the Cherries play midweek against Manchester City and Everton, respectively, before David Moyes’ men are set to go toe-to-toe with the Hornets at London Stadium on Friday night.

Should West Ham win, it would leave no doubt as to which division that they will be playing in next season. If they happen to lose, however, with a difficult game away to Manchester United the following week, a final day showdown against Aston Villa would likely be on the cards. A draw, while not perfect, would give the Hammers an extra bit of security, depending on others’ results.

One factor that is in the Irons’ favour is goal difference. After their thumping win on Saturday, they now find themselves on -15, while Friday’s opponents Watford – who are level on points – are a place below with a goal difference of -21. Both Bournemouth and Aston Villa are not just at a disadvantage points-wise, but also goal difference wise, too, as they land on -24 and -27, respectively.

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Whatever way results may go over the coming weeks, such a margin of goal difference is unlikely to be overturned and therefore acts as, effectively, an extra point. So while the Hammers find themselves three points ahead of the Cherries and four points ahead of Villa, that extra point could logically be added to that total due to their superior goal difference.

Had Eddie’s Howe’s Bournemouth and Dean Smith’s Villa both lost yesterday, while not mathematically, it would have virtually been light’s out for their chances of survival. To gain such valuable victories cannot be underestimated at this stage of the season, and momentum could now play a huge part in their quest to maintain their Premier League statuses. As mentioned earlier, they both have difficult upcoming games this week, but that glimmer of belief that they now have could spur them on to further unexpected points.

For West Ham, until Friday, it is just a waiting game. Others’ results are out of their hands, and the crucial clash against Watford should be the only match that they are focusing on.

While the Hammers may have indeed been playing a Norwich side who look like they’d already given up, it was rather just a continuity of their previous performances in recent weeks. They have now scored nine goals in their last four matches, with their only blank coming against an industrious Burnley side where, if not for Nick Pope and poor finishing – multiple goals more would have been added to that goalscoring tally.

What is perhaps even more important, however, is the clean sheet that they earned – their first Premier League shut-out in 15 games. Again, this may have come against the worst side in the league, but the confidence gained from it could prove to be monumental as the team head into their final stretch of games.

Premier League survival is in West Ham’s hands, and if they somehow fail to renew their membership status from here, they have only got themselves to blame.