West Ham United Fan View: Relegation battle looming?

It has been six games without a win for West Ham with four losses in the last four games. We are only seven points away from the ‘magic 40 points’ which would almost guarantee safety in the Premier League but as the weeks progress, this number is looking more and more unlikely. I have said that we are probably not going to get relegated this season but here are three reasons why we may be dragged into a relegation battle…

Our upcoming fixtures

Unlike last season where we relished the big games and performed exceptionally well in them, this season has been the opposite. We have shown no fight and have often been on the end of embarrassing results. In our last eight games of the season, we face Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool. In our first meeting this season against these teams, we lost three, drawing against Liverpool.

This is not to say that our other four fixtures are any easier with trips to Stoke and Burnley ahead. Have we got any chance against these teams given our previous performances? I highly doubt it.

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The form of the teams around us

As it stands, we are six points above the relegation zone though the teams below us have been finding their form. Although they have not won in their previous seven games, Burnley can rely on their great home form with four home games to come. Crystal Palace have won their last four games and it looks like Sam Allardyce will prevent a club from being relegated in the Premier League once again.

With both Marco Silva and Paul Clement becoming the managers of Hull and Swansea respectively, this has led to an improvement in performances for both clubs and should they continue to improve whilst we regress, we could be in trouble.

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Injuries to key players

We haven’t had the best of luck when it has come to injuries this season with many key players missing throughout the season. As it stands, both Winston Reid and Pedro Obiang have suffered long-term injuries and our defensive performances in games is severely weakened without them. Slaven Bilic announced that Michail Antonio, who had also been injured, will make a return for the game against Arsenal though a start is doubtful.

We know that our squad depth is poor and the loss against Hull showed that we need our key players in every game otherwise a win for West Ham simply looks unlikely.