What Tottenham and West Ham need to escape Premier League relegation on tense final day | OneFootball

Permutations as Spurs control their own destiny heading into Everton clash and Hammers host Leeds

Tottenham’s fight for survival heads to the final day, with Spurs in a straight shootout with London rivals West Ham for Premier League safety.

Burnley and Wolves are already long since relegated, while Leeds and Nottingham Forest have both pulled away from the battle at the bottom in recent weeks to ensure their safety. That leaves Spurs and West Ham fighting to finish above the dotted line.

Tottenham welcome David Moyes’ Everton to their corner of north London this weekend, with the 12th-place Toffees having little to play for aside from trying to secure a top-half finish.

Nerve-shredding: Either Tottenham or West Ham will be relegated on the final day of the Premier League season

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West Ham’s opponents Leeds are safe up in 14th position after a strong finish to their first campaign back in the Premier League. It is worth noting that West Ham have lost twice to Leeds already this term, including a defeat on penalties in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the London Stadium back in March.

They also lost 2-1 at Elland Road in the league in October.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men hold the initiative with a two-point gap above 18th-placed West Ham. Their goal difference is also superior by some distance, sitting at -10 compared to West Ham’s -22. That provides Spurs with a bit of a cushion heading into Sunday.

The maths is simple for Tottenham: beat Everton at home and secure Premier League survival. However, that task might yet prove difficult, with Spurs winless at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League since December.

If Spurs can only draw with Everton, whom they beat 3-0 on Merseyside in October, then West Ham will require an enormous winning margin of 12 goals over Leeds in order to stay up.

While not technically impossible it is obviously extremely unlikely, and as such, the main permutation that will see Spurs go down for the first time since 1977 is if they lose to Everton and West Ham beat Leeds.

Victory for Tottenham at home to Everton will guarantee their Premier League status for another season, regardless of events across London. Defeat for Spurs will only be punished by relegation if West Ham win their game.

A draw for the Hammers would not be enough, as it would cut the cap between Spurs and West Ham to one point.