West Ham’s Pyrrhic victory: relegation and winning the Conference League is an increasingly realistic scenario that would not pay off for the club

West Ham’s footballers are preparing for the semi-finals of the European Conference League and a fierce fight for survival in the Premier League. The unusual situation at the English club makes you wonder what the goal is for the rest of the season. And, given the league draw, it seems clear.

Already, West Ham seemed to be out of the woods. In April, the team finally sat up, started scoring more goals, and extracted a cool seven points from games against Fulham, Arsenal and a rampant Bournemouth. But then they fell unluckily to Liverpool and unhappily to Crystal Palace.

The next rounds are likely to be nil

Although in neither case did the Hammers put in a downright poor performance, the bottom line is that they didn’t pick up any points ahead of their games against Manchester City and Manchester United. They will find it hard to win those in the next two confrontations.

The game at the Etihad Stadium is basically a write-off. Pep Guardiola simply knows how to end the season and his Manchester are in their best phase of the season. At home to the Red Devils, the chances are better, but United have a big incentive to secure the Champions League as soon as possible.

A playable but tricky finish

The last three rounds are already more enjoyable, but if the Hammers don’t get the first and toughest of them right away, the final two games will really be life or death.

The strongest opponent is thought to be Brentford, who can still theoretically think about the European Cup.

David Moyes’ charges now have a five-point lead on the relegation zone. The opponents from the last two rounds are Leeds and Leicester. The former is four points behind West Ham, the latter five.

To sacrifice a clear Conference League

Before the final month, the London team must get its priorities in order. With a full squad, it cannot go into the matches of both competitions and although it has a great chance of overall triumph in the Conference League, given the quality of its opponents, it needs to devote its full concentration to saving the league.

It is not only a question of prestige, but the top English competition is logically a source of huge money, which would be rapidly reduced in the event of relegation to the Championship. And especially after last year’s massive investment in the squad, relegation would be a financial disaster.

Source: Premier League