Credit: Imago/Premier League on X

James Barker

Fri 27 March 2026 8:10, UK

West Ham United need to reach 37 points if they’re to hit the average points tally of the Premier League’s 17th-placed team since the 2015-16 season.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sit on 29 points, and have just seven games in which to salvage their top flight status for the 2026-27 campaign.

There has been positive signs that West Ham can escape a return to Championship football in recent games, with a massive 1-1 draw against Man City and a 1-0 away win at Fulham marking two of their last three league results.

However, the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa last time out was disappointing, as Unai Emery’s side were considerably more comfortable in the game than perhaps the scoreline suggests.

As such, Nuno will have a lot of work to do over the course of the international break, as his West Ham team prepare for seven Premier League cup finals.

How many points West Ham may need to avoid relegation

West Ham are staring at Premier League relegation, but Nuno and his players do still have enough time to avoid that fate.

Their run-in will begin on 10 April, as they welcome Wolves to the London Stadium in what is simply a must-win game for the Hammers.

Looking back over the last 10 seasons of Premier League football, the average points from the team who finished 17th is 36.9.

Therefore, West Ham may well require a further eight points to make sure of their top flight status, but as detailed in the above table, there have been numerous teams who’ve stayed up with points tallies below that figure.

Nottingham Forest in 2023-24 somehow survived on a remarkably low 32 points, whereas at the other end of the spectrum, no 17th-placed team in the last decade has bettered Watford’s 40 points in 2016-17.

And, with the current 17th-placed side in Tottenham already on 30 points with seven games to play, it looks likely that a tally close to that return may well be necessary this term.

Can West Ham realistically aim for 37 points?

So, it’s alright saying 37 points is the average sweet spot for Premier League survival, but can this West Ham team reach it?

The Hammers should take three points against Wolves in their next league game, which would leave five more points to acquire in their final six.

Crystal Palace away should see them aim to take at least a point, whilst Everton at home looks hard to justify a Hammers win.

Brentford away also feels tough to predict anything other than a defeat, as does Arsenal at home on 9 May.

The Irons visit Newcastle for the penultimate game of the season, which given the Magpies’ current form, should see Nuno’s men confident of taking at least a point from that one.

Then it all ends with Leeds at home on the final day, which of course, has to be three points for West Ham, and if so, that would bring them to a grand total of 37 points with the outcomes predicted above.

So, the answer is yes, West Ham can realistically aim for 37 points this season, but there’s very little margin for error.