Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side emerged from a tough away test at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night with a huge 1-0 win over Fulham, snapping a three-game winless run in the Premier League.

As such, West Ham now move level on 28 points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, after they also recorded an excellent result on their travels on Wednesday, drawing 2-2 with Manchester City.

Only Forest’s slightly superior goal difference is keeping the Hammers in the bottom three now, but with Man City and Aston Villa next on the Irons’ agenda, points could be at a premium over the next few weeks.

How many points West Ham may need to avoid relegation

It’s been a hugely disappointing season at the London Stadium, and it was only at the start of 2026 that a lot of West Ham supporters were already writing off their team’s chances of Premier League survival.

However, since the 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on 6 January, the Hammers have lost just twice in all competitions, and have also picked up four league wins in that time too.

The win over Fulham on Wednesday will have Irons fans believing Championship football isn’t their destiny for 2026-27; a division which West Ham haven’t been in since the 2011-12 season.

But, if they are going to escape the drop this term, then they may well have to do so by setting a decade-long points tally.

As detailed in a report by BBC Sport, no Premier League team in the last nine seasons that’s finished on 36 points or more has been relegated, but that might not be the case this year.

That’s because their calculations claim that the team in 18th, currently West Ham, are set to finish in 37 points, meaning 38 points is the golden survival number.

Nottingham Forest’s remaining fixtures analysed

With Nottingham Forest currently West Ham’s biggest rival for Premier League survival, how do their remaining Premier League fixtures look?

Forest’s next two league games see them take on Fulham at home and Tottenham away respectively, before back-to-back home clashes with Aston Villa and Burnley.

Trips to Sunderland and Chelsea follow after that, before ending their season with a three-game run-in consisting of Newcastle at home, Man United away and Bournemouth at home on the final day.

Looking at those games, seven points could be a realistic target from those first four, whilst Sunderland and Chelsea away look tough to gain any points from.

However, they will be confident of taking points from either of their two final home games of the season against Newcastle and Bournemouth, so don’t rule out Forest finishing on plus 37 points this term.

For even more West Ham news and opinions, head over to Football Insider.