It is as you were in the relegation battle as West Ham and Tottenham matched Nottingham Forest’s victory on Friday evening with all three relegation-threatened sides desperate to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next season.
Their victories have even dragged Leeds back into the mix, already on 40 points. But it took late winners for West Ham and Tottenham on a Saturday packed with late drama. Spurs were four points adrift at one stage – and then out of the drop zone completely!
They finish it where they started – two points behind their London rivals but with renewed belief thanks to Joao Palhinha’s 82nd-minute winner over Wolves at Molineux. Spurs have their very first Premier League win of 2026 and first under Roberto De Zerbi.
For Nuno, the pain of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 88th minute equaliser that cancelled out Tomas Soucek’s opener turned to joy when Callum Wilson pulled the three points out of the bag with the winner in stoppage-time. The Hammers rank sixth since mid-January.
What the managers said…
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo:
“Nobody is making it easy. It’s going to be a big fight, I think, until the end. But the good thing is that we don’t give up. We’re still on it. The momentum, especially here at the London Stadium, I think it’s a huge factor in the Premier League.”
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi:
“I hope this result can change something in our head, in our mentality, and for the other result. It’s really very tough to win a game for us, if we put our head on the other teams, it becomes too tough for me.
“They have to be positive, they have to feel full confidence, because they are good, and not to see the other results. For example, West Ham. And we have to move on and prepare for the next games. Now the first game is at Villa Park, and that’s it.”
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between West Ham and Everton
Palhinha ready for ‘four finals’
Joao Palhinha speaking after his match-winner for Spurs:
“It’s not a normal season that we have been living until today. We all have responsibility for this season, but the reality is we have four finals in the league and we need to do our job.
“Hopefully, this win can change what happened in the past, give us a bit more motivation as well, because it’s been a long time without victories. Especially in some of the games that we should have taken some more points, much more.
“I think it happened a lot, but sometimes it’s the details. But what we can control right now is doing our job until the end of the season and try to keep the club where it belongs, which is the Premier League.”
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Wolves and Spurs
Could Tottenham injuries be a factor?
One concern for Spurs is that their win came at a price with Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons both going off injured, joining Cristian Romero and Mohammed Kudus on the injury list since De Zerbi’s arrival. It is a problem that the Italian could do without.
“Solanke is a muscular injury, I don’t know what level of injury, and for Xavi it’s a problem of the knee. We’re going to see in the next days, Monday or Tuesday,” said De Zerbi.
Tottenham’s Xavi Simons appears injured before being stretchered off at Wolves
“For Solanke it’s not a big problem, I don’t know how many games we lose him, but I would like to know the situation of Xavi, because the knee is always different than the muscular injury. I spoke with him two minutes ago, he feels better than at the beginning of the injury.
“I wouldn’t like to lose any other players, because Romero, Kudus, now Solanke and maybe Xavi, we can win the games with the players, not with the coaches. The coaches are important, but the players are more important. But I want to be positive.”
Leeds and Forest aren’t safe yet!
Former Nottingham Forest and Tottenham defender Michael Dawson speaking on Soccer Saturday:
“Psychologically, we talk about that relegation battle, Spurs haven’t been in it, the players haven’t been in this situation. But you could tell they were fighting, you could see that.
“And you’d say, well, where’s it been for the last 15 games? Yes, they haven’t always got what they deserve, but they’ve been well below par.
“But they showed a fighting spirit today, and that will be a massive bonus for Roberto De Zerbi, you see him after, his emotions. That momentum might change now.
“Let me tell you, this isn’t done with Leeds United and Nottingham Forest yet. Leeds United have to play West Ham on the final day, and they’ve got to go to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So, there’s plenty of football still to be played.”
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