The exciting thing in the relegation battle is West Ham who are fighting hard and succeed in keeping their hopes of survival in the Premier League alive. Wolverhampton are done and so does Burnley.
League leader Arsenal delivers another win and keeps a steady course towards Premier League gold. – There are not so many people anymore who question the purchase of Viktor Gyokeres.
Read: Premier League duo ready to beat Manchester United in battle for permanent Michael Carrick deal
Viktor Gyokeres scored two goals as Arsenal comfortably beat Sunderland and extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to nine points.
The Gunners looked to be frustrated by a well-organised Sunderland defence before Martin Zubimendi’s excellent shot beat Robin Roef’s, after hitting the post.
Sunderland caused problems, with Brian Brobbey destabilising Arsenal’s defensive line with his physicality, and the striker had a shot blocked on the line by Kai Havertz after goalkeeper David Raya fumbled a long ball into the box.
Declan Rice and Havertz came close with curved shots before substitute Gyokeres hammered the ball into the net after being set up by Havertz in the 66th minute.
The Swedish international then put in an open goal in injury time after Gabriel Martinelli had rolled the ball across the field to him.
After Aston Villa’s draws against Bournemouth and Manchester City not playing until Sunday afternoon, the win puts further pressure on Arsenal’s title rivals.
Read: Is completely done with Cristiano Ronaldo
West Ham keep the relegation battle alive?
For the first time since before Christmas, there will only be three points separating the teams in 17th and 18th place after a Premier League weekend.
West Ham’s 2-0 win away at Turf Moor to Burnley has finally dragged them within reach of Nottingham Forest again, with the Hammers enjoying a mid-season renaissance by winning three of their last four games.
While Wolverhampton and Burnley are completely cut off, Nuno Espírito Santos’ side seem to be keeping the relegation battle alive on their own.
There have only been 10 instances since the Premier League was formed in 1992-93 that the fight for survival has not gone down to the last day – although five of those have happened in the last decade.
So after some anticlimactic endings in recent years, are we about to have an unusually exciting end to the season at the bottom of the table?
Renewed Hammers chase with optimism
While Wolverhampton are not mathematically relegated yet, they back up the table on a meagre eight points from 25 games, and sports analysts and computer experts Opta rank their chances of relegation at 99.99%.
It also effectively means that the West Midlands club is in a battle to avoid the undesirable record of winning the fewest points in a single Premier League season, currently held by Derby, who managed just 11 in 2007-08.
Meanwhile, Burnley’s loss to the Hammers means that there is a 99.4% chance that they will spend the next term in the second tier of English football.
There was frustration in the air at Turf Moor on Saturday, with the home fans blaming the players and calling for Scott Parker’s resignation as boss after seeing their team fail to win for the 16th game in a row.
“Whether we fail or not, we’ll get through this for sure,” Parker said.
“I’m very sorry that I can’t promise that we’ll be better for it with a win or with staying in this division, but the longer the journey is, we’ll be better for it.”
‘Vulnerable’ Burnley unable to turn up the pressure – Parker
Hammers boss Nuno said his team are “still in the same situation” and urged them to “focus” on themselves after winning in Lancashire.
But are they?
After going 10 Premier League games without a win, West Ham seem to have built some momentum from Callum Wilson’s dramatic late goal at Tottenham on January 17.
And they will feel they can tackle their remaining 13 games with renewed optimism despite being rated with a 75.77% chance of relegation, with Nuno also having the experience of leading Nottingham Forest to safety on the final day of the 2023-24 season.
“West Ham look more like a Nuno team in recent weeks,” said former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy, who is a pundit on Saturday’s Match of the Day.
“They’ve won three out of four and have all the momentum. Crysencio Summerville is playing out of his body and Jarrod Bowen will always contribute, in addition they have signed two strikers.”
“All of a sudden, they look like a team that can score goals, and that means you don’t have to rely so heavily on keeping them away at the other end.”
“However, you’d always rather have the points in the box than do the chase, as you can’t have too many misses – you have to keep getting points.”
Which teams will be dragged in if it goes all the way to the end?
While Forest are only three points above West Ham in 17th place, Sean Dyche will be hoping his side have the quality to pull away after spending around £200 million on players in the last 12 months.
Opta ranks the two-time European champions as having a 15.3% chance of being relegated, and it is likely that Dyche will have to manage their resources due to the club’s continued participation in the Europa League, where they will face Fenerbahçe in the play-offs for the round of 16.
“Too many times recently I’ve seen Nottingham Forest look passive,” Murphy said.
“Whether it’s fatigue from the amount of games where Sean Dyche has had to play the same players. He gave wingers the chance to claim a place against Wrexham and they didn’t take it, so he’s had to pick the same eight or nine weeks in and out.”
“I’ve done it myself and it’s hard to try to play every three days and play at your best, especially under the pressure of relegation. In addition, they are trying to deal with Europe as well.”
Leeds, who secured a valuable win over Forest on Friday, appear to be in the best form of the three teams on 29 points.
Leeds beat Forest to move away from the relegation zone
Crystal Palace, who travel to Brighton on Sunday, appear to be in disarray following the departure of captain Marc Guéhi and manager Oliver Glasner’s confirmation that he will leave the club at the end of the season.
Tottenham have also taken just four of the last 21 points available and have not won a top division game since the start of the year.
“Palace have a game on their hands as confidence is running out,” Murphy added.
“I’m like the majority and think Tottenham will be fine even if the results don’t say so. Their squad and the quality they have is going to come out well and they will get enough points.”
“Leeds, for me, are the ones who are going to be safe given the way they’ve been playing over the last two or three months. They have a very good momentum. And we all know about the Elland Road factor, which is huge.”
“So I think it’s between Forest, Palace and West Ham. It’s going to be so close. I really think it’s going to go all the way to the end.”
