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West Ham United have the hardest run-in of any of the relegation candidates, according to Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
Indeed, this season’s relegation battle looks as if it could go down to the wire and West Ham could yet catch either Nottingham Forest or Tottenham.
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Still, West Ham’s remaining fixtures are difficult, which could yet prove a problem for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Both Shearer and Lineker believe they’ve been dealt the hardest hand ahead of the business end of the campaign.
Lineker and Shearer think West Ham have the hardest fixture schedule in relegation scrap
Speaking on The Rest Is Football following West Ham’s 5-2 defeat at Liverpool, Shearer said: “I look at their fixture list and they’ve probably got the toughest, I think.”
Lineker then added: “Probably got the toughest run in, probably them or Forest.”
Earlier in the episode, Shearer was asked whether he believed the Hammers could stay up.
Why is Jarrod Bowen struggling when we need him most?
Credit: Getty Images/Molly Darlington/Copa
The Premier League legend didn’t completely write off their chances, but stressed they needed to improve their defensive record if they were to hold any hope.
“I thought they did alright [vs Liverpool], I thought there were plenty of positives. Getting into really good positions, scoring a couple of goals, but defensively they just looked really, really weak,” he said.
“Unless that improves, then they’re not going to get out of it, no.”
To Nuno’s credit, West Ham had improved their defensive record until that trip to Anfield. Oh, how the Irons coach will hope that was just a blip, a game in which they were simply undone by the league’s new set-piece kings.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesWest Ham United’s remaining Premier League fixtures in full
West Ham’s fixtures are difficult, there’s little doubt about that. Below, they are listed in full (Premier League only).
Games against Fulham, Manchester City and Aston Villa all look difficult. Some winnable looking games against Wolves, Crystal Palace and Everton present themselves after that, but the pressure on the Hammers could be even greater by then.
None of the final four games of the campaign – against Brentford, Newcastle, Arsenal or Leeds – look especially promising right now.
If West Ham stay up from here, they will have certainly done it the hard way.
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