I will let you into a secret: my grandson (who is still too young to take a punt) has been on at me for over a month now to place a wager (on his behalf) on Spurs losing their Premier League status.
He’s convinced the North Londoners may well go down come the end of the campaign, and even if they don’t, he said the odds are too attractive not to place a bet. “Just think how much pocket money I will get that will be granddad” was the gist of his argument.
Now granted, since he first mentioned his plan to me in early March, the odds are not quite as attractive as the Spurs have generally slipped up every week. Indeed, a last-minute Richarlison equaliser at Anfield aside, their followers have had nothing to cheer about to the extent they now find themselves in the drop zone with six games remaining and their captain Cristian Romero out for the remainder of the campaign.
Despite all this, and call this SBOTOP scribe an old fool if you wish, but my advice to him has remained unchanged, even during a run of form in which the Lilywhites have taken just one point from the last 24 available and haven’t won a Premier League game since December 28. That’s because I still think Spurs will survive. Time is running out, but I can see them delivering a fair few Premier League 2026 highlights over the next month or so. Certainly, they can point to the fact that when you’re down on your luck, everything can go against you.
First, a series of key long-term injuries, next an outrageous deflection which saw Sunderland’s Nordi Mukiele prove the matchwinner in new manager Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge on Sunday.
Of course, that doesn’t excuse their run of form or points tally, but I think that is about to change, and I hope I’m right, or my grandson will never let me hear the end of what he could have won
So, having staked my claim on Spurs’ survival, that leaves two clubs (West Ham and Nottingham Forest) battling it out to avoid the dreaded 18th place and the massive losses, both financially and prestige, that Premier League status brings.
Oh, the irony that the former are managed by the same Portuguese boss who started the campaign in charge of the latter.
Nuno Espirito Santo arrived at West Ham and has slowly overseen enough of an improvement to lift them out of the bottom three, two points ahead of Spurs and one behind Forest, where he started the season – all before controversial club owner Evangelos Marinakis decided to show him the door as he has since done with his two successors, Ange Postecoglu and Sean Dyche.
The decision to sack Dyche, who had guided them to some superb results following his autumn appointment, baffled many, while Forest are finding ways to grab points, there will be many who believe Marinakis’ meddling is the reason why they are still in trouble.
If Forest remain in Europe – they entertain Porto in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night – then it may make their domestic task even harder.
There is an argument, though, that their confidence will continue to soar should their adventure continue. Their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday keeps them clear of trouble, and Vitor Pereira, the fourth manager in the Forest hotseat this term, knows survival is in their hands, especially with the visit of all but doomed Burnley to the City Ground on Sunday.
Forest are unbeaten in their past five games in all competitions, while West Ham – though not totally convincing – have given themselves a chance few expected when they lost at home to Forest in January, a result which saw them seven points adrift.
One thing is certain: confidence and mentality will be just as important as talent over the next six weeks.
My gut instinct tells me West Ham are heading for the drop, although I think it will be mighty close and, if Forest stay in Europe and face another two-legged tie next month, fixture congestion could prove their downfall.
Let me return to my original point: how can a club that won a major European trophy 11 months ago, played in the Champions League this season, and is the ninth-wealthiest football club in the world, according to Deloitte, be relegated?
Of course, our Premier League 2026 betting odds – and my grandson – suggest otherwise, and I urge you to take a look.
Certainly, if the y and a 14-year-old from the Isle of Man are correct and the unthinkable happens, it will be the biggest fall from grace in modern football history.
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