West Ham look to snatch Premier League survival on the final day of the season against Leeds United.
Victory would see West Ham stay up only if Tottenham lose at home to Everton, whilst Leeds can finish as high as 11th with a win by at least a four-goal margin if Newcastle and Fulham draw in their clash and Everton fail to beat Spurs
Team News
Adama Traore could return for West Ham if he passes a late fitness check following a recent muscle injury.
Nuno Espirito Santo otherwise has no fresh injury concerns after their 3-1 defeat at Newcastle, as Lukasz Fabianski remains sidelined with a back injury.
Leeds will be without Sean Longstaff after he needed surgery on a hernia with the procedure timed so that he will be back to full fitness in time for next season.
Anton Stach (ankle) will too miss out but Jayden Bogle, Facundo Buonanotte (both hamstring), Pascal Struijk (hip) and Brendan Aaronson (leg) are set to be available.
Gabriel Gudmundsson (hamstring), Noah Okafor (calf) and Ilia Gruev (knee) are still absent.
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host Leeds at London Stadium on Sunday 24 May at 4pm BST, live on Sky Sports Football in the UK.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have lost two of their last seven league meetings against Leeds (W4, D1, L2).
- Leeds have lost just two of their last eight Premier League visits to West Ham (W4, D2, L2), although both defeats came in two of their three visits to the Hammers’ current home – London Stadium alongside a 3-2 win in January 2022.
- West Ham’s Matheus Fernandes has scored in both meetings against Leeds in all competitions this season (W1, D1), as the Hammers lost 2-1 at Elland Road in the top flight then drew 2-2 at home in the FA Cup but lost on penalties.
- Nuno Espirito Santo’s Hammers have conceded seven goals and scored once in their last three matches (L3).
- Five of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s six league goals for Leeds in 2026 have been scored after half time.
Prediction
Knowing that only victory will do coupled with help from former boss – David Moyes’ Everton across at Tottenham, West Ham have to treat this match like the 2023 UEFA Conference League Final and produce a clinical display from the get-go if want to give themselves any hope.
Their defence however has to be absolutely solid because they were just toothless in handling Newcastle’s high-intensity press and energetic movement, as that is where this match and season could be won and lost even if Spurs lose their game.
Leeds meanwhile have been in this position themselves as recently as 2022 – having stayed up with a 2-1 win at Brentford – but now play the spectator role this time in the capital so will be interesting to see how they approach this game with nothing really to play for.
Daniel Farke’s Whites though have showed considerable improvement in the last two months and resiliently dug in defensively in their last-gasp 1-0 win at home to Brighton last weekend, so I can’t see them having much sympathy for West Ham once the match starts.
As much as my instinct says that West Ham are down, I do think that they could at least try and make it nervy for Tottenham if turn up with the right attitude given that Leeds have little to play for other than their eventual league position.
Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Leeds
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