West Ham’s next fixtures
After West Ham closed the gap from 18th to 17th to two points yesterday, Nottingham Forest responded to make it five again with a massively important 2-0 win at Brentford, and West Ham is again five points from safety. That’s going to be an uphill battle for West Ham and if they survive, this will be very, very close.
Let’s take a look at the Hammers’ upcoming fixtures. Where could the points be coming from?
It’s only halftime at London Stadium
A superb first half for West Ham meant that the Hammers led 3-0 at home at the interval in a Premier League match for the first time since July 2020 against Watford.
The home side hardly put a foot wrong in the first half, contributing to an electric atmosphere inside London Stadium.
Once again the Hammers were inspired by captain Jarrod Bowen who crossed for Summerville‘s header and converted a penalty to make it 2-0. Mateys Fernandes then found the top corner from long range with a thunderbolt strike.
With the assist and his goal 29-year-old Bowen became the outright Premier League goal involvements leader for West Ham (102 – 62 goals and 40 assists), overtaking Michail Antonio (101).
Final score: 3-1 (BBC)
The result means West Ham have won three games in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2023.
It backs up their victory at Tottenham last weekend and increased pressure on relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.
The Hammers are now 2 points behind Nottingham Forest and 5 behind Leeds United. Forest take on Brentford away from home on Sunday while Leeds travel to Everton on Monday.
‘Within touching distance’ – the case for West Ham survival
There have only ever been six teams that have avoided Premier League relegation having been seven or more points from safety after at least 21 games played.
They are:
- West Bromwich Albion in 2004-05 – eight points from safety after 27 games
- Portsmouth in 2005-06 – eight points from safety after 28 games
- West Ham in 2006-07 – 10 points from safety after 29 games
- Sunderland in 2013-14 – seven points from safety after 32 games
- Leicester in 2014-15 – seven points from safety after 29 games
- Aston Villa in 2019-20 – seven points from safety after 34 games
Can it be done again?
Saturday, 17 January 2026: Tottenham v West Ham 1-2 (0-1)
This win over Tottenham has instilled new belief into West Ham’s squad and supporters and could be the starting point for an escape from relegation, just like an other game against Tottenham was instrumental in West Ham’s “greatest escape” of 2007!
West Ham’s “Greatest Escape” in the PL season of 2006/07: The chart⬆️ shows league position and points accumulation on West Ham match days or days when their position was altered by other results.
On 4 March 2007 it was a game against Tottenham at Upton Park in which West Ham lead 2-0 at halftime, but eventually lost 3-4, which despite of the defeat, galvanised the struggling team and was the starting point of the “greatest escape” as described in a book with the subtitle “The craziest season in West Ham United’s history” by Daniel Hurley (pictured above).
The main reason why in my opinion this game was crucial for the Hammers’ race to catch up with the teams ahead of them and avoid the drop were the first two goals scored at Upton Park that afternoon: for the first one 19-year-old Academy product Mark Noble got on the scoresheet, and the second one was scored by Carlos Tevez who converted a free kick, making it 2-0. Being that his first goal for West Ham he famously celebrated it by getting of his shirt and jumping into the crowd.
After this game the Hammers started a streak of wins beginning with an away victory at Blackburn in which Tevez scored again! But it was the defeat against Tottenham which had shown the team and its manager Alan Curbishley that they were able to compete with the clubs ahead of them in the table and that Carlos Tevez eventually had “arrived” in the Premier League and would be able to do brilliant things with confidence regained!
Every season is different, and this time West Ham is not 11 points from safety with only nine games to go! But maybe in 2025/26 it could also be a game against Tottenham which made us realise that after ten winless league games winning is still possible for the Hammers and that fortune isn’t always hiding! A potential penalty for Spurs in the 85th minute wasn’t given and Callum Wilson scored the winner for West Ham in injury time!
Let’s hope that, as Clemens texted in the Austrian Irons WhatsApp group, the victory against Spurs will give us a bit of a boost and motivation, and we can continue to score goals and win points in the next few games.
Anyway, signing new centre-back would still be very important in this transfer window…
Come on you Irons!
Biggest FA Cup Shock
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace 2-1
The winners of last season’s FA Cup final have been eliminated by non league team Macclesfield in the third round of the FA Cup. The National League North side defeated FA Cup holders Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday despite being ranked 117 league places below the Premier League club:
-> https://www.instagram.com/reel=
Sixth-tier Macclesfield could lay claim to having produced the greatest upset in the FA Cup’s 155-year history, as in the competition’s history never a team with a difference in league position of 117 places has beaten the higher ranked team.
West Ham’s first win since 8 November
On Sunday West Ham United were playing QPR at the London Stadium. They won 2-1 after extra time. New signing Taty Castellanos who joined from Lazio on Monday and Crysencio Summerville scored the goals.
Six-pointer lost
BBC: Home games against Fulham, Brighton and Nottingham Forest and a trip to bottom-of-the-table Wolves were a chance for the Hammers to get themselves out of trouble after Christmas.
Of those 12 points available, West Ham picked up just one – and even that came after they had twice thrown away the lead before drawing 2-2 with Brighton.
They conceded a late winner against Fulham, were humiliated 3-0 by Wolves and then again managed to lose after scoring first against Forest, with Morgan Gibbs-White converting a decisive 89th-minute penalty.
At half-time, the Hammers were one point from safety – now they are cut seven points adrift and left facing a huge battle to stay up.
What a Start into 2026…
The first game of 2026 at Wolves away on 3 January ended in a 3-0 defeat for West Ham. After a disappointing 2-2 draw with Brighton in their last game of 2025, the Hammers gifted Wolves their first full points of the season. Their opponents who sit bottom of the table hadn’t won a single game so far.
West Ham’s performance was described as ‘shocking, pathetic and embarrassing’ and it is now very much in doubt if Nuno Espirito Santo is the right manager to turn things around. The Portuguese took over from Graham Potter with the club 19th in September, but the Hammers are still stuck in 18th place and four points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest with a relegation six-pointer against Sean Dyche’s side coming up next. With the relevant statistics having worsened, time could be running out for Nuno.
BBC has had the following look on Nuno’s stats:
- Nuno has gone 26 Premier League games without seeing his side keep a clean sheet, across spells at Nottingham Forest and West Ham. Only Steve Kean (30 between May 2011 and March 2012 with Blackburn) has gone longer without a shutout among managers in the competition’s history.
- West Ham are now winless in their last nine Premier League matches (D4 L5), their longest run since the final nine games of the 2010-11 campaign when they were relegated.
- West Ham have conceded 41 goals in the Premier League this season, their most after 20 games in a top-flight campaign since 1965-66 (44).
- West Ham have conceded more goals in the opening five minutes of games than any other side in the Premier League this season (4).
Well, things are really looking bleak, West Ham are in deep, deep trouble! If the manager and his players don’t turn things around quickly, relegation seems almost inevitable for the Hammers!
ManUtd sack Amorim
By the way, Ruben Amorim is no longer manager of Manchester United! He has been sacked on Monday, Under-18s head coach and former player Darren Fletcher will take charge of ManUtd’s game with Burnley on Wednesday.
New manager at Rapid
Rapid Vienna already has a new manager: 36-year-old Johannes Hoff Thorup took over as head coach at SK Rapid from January 2026.
The Dane was born on 19 February 1989. He was very successful in his first managerial position at small Danish club FC Nordsjaelland from 2022 to 2024. He then managed Norwich from July 2024 until April 2025, finishing 13th in the English Championship.
Hoff Thorup has signed a contract initially running until the end of the 2026/27 season, with an option for an other season.
Let’s hope he’s the right one for Rapid now! 
Defeated again…
…by the odd goal:
West Ham full-back Ollie Scarles was in tears after his mistake gifted Fulham a 1-0 win and deepened his side’s relegation fears.
West Ham looked set to earn a point until five minutes from time when Scarles, 20, took an air shot at a clearance, allowing Harry Wilson to lift a cross to the far post for Raúl Jiménez to tuck home.
“We are all disappointed and sad, but we stick together,” said manager Nuno Espirito Santo, whose side have taken just three points from their past seven games. “He has our total confidence and support. Mistakes are part of the game. Today and tonight is going to be tough, but tomorrow is another day.”
West Ham remain five points adrift of safety after the first of a run of supposedly winnable games, with Brighton and Forest still to come to east London, either side of a trip to rock-bottom Wolves. Home fans held up red cards and chanted “sack the board” in the latest protest against owner David Sullivan and vice-chairman Karren Brady.
“I felt the momentum was ours, we created situations,” Nuno said. “We got punished and after that there was not too much time.” (from The Telegraph)
EXTRA TIME 
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