Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 13 April 2026 17:40, UK

West Ham United have to beat Crystal Palace next Monday, as Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side face a gauntlet of games after the Eagles – including Arsenal.

It was an ideal weekend for West Ham, as they trounced Wolves to the tune of four goals to nil, whilst also seeing relegation rivals Tottenham and Nottingham Forest drop points.

As such, the Hammers now have two points worth of breathing room above Spurs in 18th, and should be full of confidence and belief after that aforementioned Wolves win.

Nuno will know that his team are not out of the woods whatsoever though, and perhaps need to take a minimum of six points from their final six to feel that their Premier League status will be safe.

Crystal Palace are next up for West Ham, in what will be a tricky away test for the Irons to navigate.

Why Crystal Palace win would be so important for West Ham

Crystal Palace beat West Ham 2-1 in this season’s reverse fixture all the way back in September last year, but that was a matchday five game with little overall pressure riding on it.

Monday will be very, very different for the Hammers though, as they look to reverse the form against the Eagles.

That’s because not only are we now at the business end of the season, but West Ham will know what awaits them down the road after their trip to Selhurst Park.

Indeed, the next three opponents on the agenda are Everton, Brentford and Arsenal respectively, and that’s not the ideal trio of fixtures that you want when you’re desperately trying to put points on the board.

Everton and Brentford are both pushing hard for European football qualification, with the two sides – who just played out a 2-2 draw on Saturday – sitting seventh and eighth respectively.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are now seeing Man City close in at the top of the Premier League, and Mikel Arteta’s men may not have the title wrapped up by the time they travel to the London Stadium for the third-last game of the season.

West Ham win vs Crystal Palace may be all but enough for safety

With 32 points on the board as things stand, a win against Palace would take West Ham to 35, and crucially, possibly five points clear depending on Tottenham’s result against Brighton on Saturday.

If Spurs were to lose once again, then the likelihood of them taking at least five points (West Ham have worse goal difference) from Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds, Chelsea and Everton as their final five, well that would seem pretty unlikely.

But, West Ham will realistically know that two draws against Everton and Brentford respectively may be the best they can hope for, and anything other than a loss to Arsenal would be a major shock.

So, a win against the Eagles would allow the Hammers to go into this trio of games considerably more relaxed, and under less pressure to pick up points, which could in turn see them play looser and better.