There are only a few games left for the teams at the foot of the Premier League, with Tottenham and West Ham swapping places after Roberto de Zerbi’s side’s big win.
Goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Igor Jesus give Nottingham Forest a big win (Image: Sebastian Frej/MB Media)
Nottingham Forest were the weekend’s big winners in the Premier League relegation battle with an impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Tottenham also had a dramatic away win against Aston Villa, but just as the sands in the hourglass began to run dry, it was West Ham who slipped to the bottom three and faced relegation.
Forest’s turnaround in recent weeks has been almost perfectly timed, allowing them to see the light of day against two struggling London clubs. But when Vitor Pereira made eight changes to his side to beat Aston Villa in the Europa League semi-final first leg in midweek, few could have predicted what would be a memorable afternoon in the capital.
But at Stamford Bridge they were in the lead by less than 90 seconds thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi. Then, after Maro Gusto thoughtlessly dragged his Brazilian strike partner into the area, Igor Jesus eagerly took a penalty kick to make it two points 15 minutes into the game.
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Cole Palmer was unlucky in the Forest area to fail to convert the spot-kick he was awarded after a disgusting clash of heads with Jesse Derry, missing out on a golden chance to turn Chelsea around before half-time.
And Awonih maximized Forest’s advantage with a third goal early in the second half, leaving them six points clear of West Ham with three games remaining.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham have taken a big step towards safety (Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
It was a bad start to the weekend for the Hammers, who suffered a disastrous defeat at Brentford. And things got even worse on Sunday night when Tottenham chose the perfect moment to secure their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, defeating a much-transformed Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest currently appear to be out of reach of West Ham, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are still within touching distance of Tottenham, although mathematically not so much.
West Ham remain in the bottom three with three games remaining (Image: Clive Rose)
However, with three challenging games remaining, Spurs could retain their Premier League status without picking up additional points unless West Ham can muster something special between now and their final home game against Leeds.
As it stands, Forest can almost enjoy a taste of safety. It also feels like Spurs are feeling the way there after weeks in the dark. West Ham will just have to hope they can pull off one last twist to avoid disaster.
number of games remaining
Nottingham Forest: Newcastle (H), Manchester United (A), Bournemouth (H)
Tottenham: Leeds (H), Chelsea (A), Everton (H)
West Ham: Arsenal (H), Newcastle (A), Leeds (H)
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