West Ham’s relegation chances revealed in supercomputer prediction after win vs Newcastle
Nuno Espirito Santo will be beaming from ear to ear after securing his first win as West Ham manager against Newcastle.
It has been a long, difficult road for Nuno since he replaced Graham Potter as West Ham head coach in late September.
Three consecutive defeats left fans wondering whether the former Nottingham Forest manager was the right man to save their season. However, the West Ham hierarchy’s decision to back Nuno seems to have paid off.
Indeed, West Ham’s 3-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday saw the Hammers, who are provisionally 18th, move within three points of Burnley on the table.
After such a convincing result, supporters will now hope that potential relegation was a nightmare they’ve finally awoken from.
West Ham will need to work harder to avoid relegation
West Ham still have a 49.73 per cent chance of relegation according to Opta’s Supercomputer.
Indeed, it predicts the Hammers will finish 19th with an average of 36.16 points.
- West Ham have a zero per cent chance of lifting the title
- The Hammers have a 0.01 per cent chance of UEFA Champions League football
- They have a 0.02 per cent chance of UEFA Europa League football
This would see them end the season with just 1.15 fewer points than Forest, who are also expected to be relegated. Meanwhile, Burnley are set to narrowly cling onto safety, finishing 17th on 37.51 points.
After such a positive performance against the Magpies, this is not news most fans would’ve wanted to hear.
However, after 10 games played, the season is still young, and if the Hammers continue to work hard, their likelihood of relegation will drastically decrease.
With Burnley next up, another three points would change this prediction massively.
- Read more: Alan Shearer hits out at ‘terrible’ scenes he saw unfold in West Ham win vs Newcastle United
West Ham can take one big thing from win over Newcastle
The Hammers recorded 37 per cent possession against the Hammers. But if the win shows anything, it’s that greater possession does not necessarily constitute domination.
Indeed, the Magpies failed to create a single big chance while the Hammers created two. Furthermore, Nuno’s side also had three more shots than their opposition.
West Ham were not the favourites against Newcastle, but still managed to dominate from beginning to end.
Nuno’s teams have typically been lethal on the counterattack, and it seems things are slowly starting to fall into place at West Ham.
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