The battle to avoid the drop has intensified dramatically, with West Ham and Tottenham both securing wins that matched Nottingham Forest's triumph on Friday night. All three clubs, teetering on the brink of relegation, are desperate to stay clear of the fate that befell Burnley and Wolves, who will compete in the Championship next season.
Those victories have also pulled Leeds United back into the conversation, as the Yorkshire side sit on 40 points. However, the Saturday fixtures were anything but straightforward, delivering late drama that decided the outcomes for both West Ham and Spurs. At one point Tottenham found themselves four points adrift of safety, only to surge back into the non‑relegation zone by the final whistle. The story ends where it began for the London rivals: Spurs remain two points behind West Ham, but their confidence has been restored thanks to João Palhinha's 82nd‑minute strike at Molineux, which gave them a crucial win over Wolves.
That goal marked Tottenham's first Premier League victory of the 2026 campaign and the inaugural win under Roberto De Zerbi. For West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo, the anguish of Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall's 88th‑minute equaliser – which erased Tomas Souček's early goal – turned into elation when Callum Wilson netted a stoppage‑time winner.
The Hammers have now climbed to sixth place in the table since the middle of January, a sign that their form is finally ticking over. A minute‑by‑minute recap of the action reads as follows: 16:09 – West Ham 1‑0 Everton (Tomas Souček opens the scoring, putting the Irons four points clear of Tottenham at that moment). 16:42 – Wolves 0‑1 Tottenham (João Palhinha heads Spurs ahead, narrowing the gap to West Ham to just two points). 16:46 – West Ham 1‑1 Everton (Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall levels for Everton, allowing Tottenham to leapfrog West Ham in the standings).
16:50 – West Ham 2‑1 Everton (Callum Wilson scores in stoppage time, restoring West Ham's two‑point advantage over Spurs). After the match, Nuno Espirito Santo reflected on the intensity of the fight: "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." Roberto De Zerbi, speaking after Tottenham's win, said: "I hope this result can change something in our heads, 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." Match‑winner João Palhinha added his perspective: "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." Looking ahead, the remaining fixtures for the clubs still fighting relegation are crucial. Leeds United will face Burnley at home, travel to Tottenham, host Brighton, and then play West Ham away. Nottingham Forest's schedule includes an away game at Chelsea, a home clash with Newcastle, a trip to Manchester United, and a home match against Bournemouth.
Tottenham must still play Aston Villa away, host Leeds, travel to Chelsea, and host Everton. West Ham's remaining games are against Brentford away, Arsenal at home, Newcastle away, and Leeds at home. Spurs do have a concern: their victory came at a cost, with Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons both leaving the field injured, joining Cristian Romero and Mohammed Kudus on the injury list since De Zerbi arrived. De Zerbi explained the situation: "Solanke has a muscular injury – I don't know the exact grade – and Xavi has a knee problem.
We'll see in the next few days, Monday or Tuesday. 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." Former England defender Gary Neville, speaking on his podcast, described the relegation race as "strange" and highlighted how quickly fortunes can change: "Wolves and Burnley are down, but when you look at the others, we could have a scenario where a team gets to the magic 40‑point mark and still goes down.
Forest must have thought they'd done themselves a favour with their remarkable victory at Sunderland, but then West Ham and Spurs follow them by winning as well. It's an extraordinary race to avoid the drop; that West Ham‑Tottenham‑Forest dynamic in the next few weeks could be where the real thrill and excitement lies.
Leeds' fixtures are quite good. They've got Burnley at home, Tottenham away, Brighton at home, West Ham away on the final day. I think they'll beat Burnley at home, which would then take them to a point where I don't think they'll get caught, so I think Leeds are okay.
Once they went to Old Trafford and won, I thought that was a point whereby psychologically they were going to survive, because their fixtures going into the run‑in were more comfortable than the rest. Nottingham Forest probably need one more win, but I think they're okay. The way Forest played at Sunderland and the emphatic nature of their victory will give them confidence. I do think it's West Ham or Spurs now." Former Forest and Tottenham defender Michael Dawson echoed the sentiment on Soccer Saturday, noting the psychological edge: "Spurs haven't been in this relegation battle before, 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. There's plenty of football still to be played."