How West Ham’s next fixtures compare to Everton, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Leicester

West Ham United’s two-point advantage over the Premier League’s bottom three was halved on Saturday after a 4-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Hammers currently sit 16th in the table and while their league position did not change, results elsewhere over the weekend meant that they are now only a point clear of the bottom three.

Southampton’s 1-0 win over Leicester City however saw them climb off the foot of the table and while four teams separate West Ham and 20th place, just two points keep them from the Saints and Bournemouth, the current bottom two.

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Next up in the Premier League for West Ham is a home match against mid-table Aston Villa on Sunday in between away and home legs with AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League’s round of 16. West Ham then have a three-week break in the Premier League, not playing again until hosting 19th place Southampton on April 2.

Of sides currently in the bottom nine, with just six points separating 12th from 20th at present, West Ham have, on paper, the second easiest fixtures in their next four games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers in 13th have, on paper, the easiest set of upcoming fixtures, with three of their next four coming against sides sat tenth or lower, including Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.

Out of the current bottom nine, Crystal Palace (12th) and Everton (18th) have the joint-hardest four-match run, with their average opponents having a league position on average of just 6.5.

Here is a look at the current bottom nine’s next four fixtures and how they compare to the rest of the sides currently fighting to beat the drop.

12th Crystal Palace (P25 27pts)

11/03 Manchester City (H) - 2nd
15/03 Brighton and Hove Albion (A) - 8th
19/03 Arsenal (A) - 1st
01/04 Leicester City (H) - 15th

Average position of next four opponents : 6.5 (joint-hardest)

13th Wolverhampton Wanderers (P26 27pts)

12/03 Newcastle United (A) - 6th
18/03 Leeds United (H) - 17th
01/04 Nottingham Forest (A) - 14th
08/04 Chelsea (H) - 10th

Average position of next four opponents : 11.75 (easiest)

14th Nottingham Forest (P25 26pts)

11/03 Tottenham Hotspur (A) - 4th
17/03 Newcastle United (H) - 6th
01/04 Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) - 13th
04/04 Leeds United (A) - 17th

Average position of next four opponents : 10 (fourth easiest)

15th Leicester City (P25 24pts)

11/03 Chelsea (H) - 10th
18/03 Brentford (A) - 9th
01/04 Crystal Palace (A) - 12th
04/04 Aston Villa (H) - 11th

Average position of next four opponents : 10.5 (third easiest)

16th West Ham United (P25 23pts)

11/03 Aston Villa (H) - 11th
02/04 Southampton (H) - 19th
05/04 Newcastle United (H) - 6th
08/04 Fulham (A) - 7th

Average position of next four opponents : 10.75 (second easiest)

Danny Ings of West Ham United celebrates with team mates after scoringhis second goal against Nottingham Forest (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

17th Leeds United (P25 22pts)

11/03 Brighton and Hove Albion (H) - 8th
18/03 Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) - 13th
01/04 Arsenal (A) - 1st
04/04 Nottingham Forest (H) - 14th

Average position of next four opponents : 9 (middle)

18th Everton (P26 22pts)

11/03 Brentford (H) - 9th
18/03 Chelsea (A) - 10th
03/04 Tottenham Hotspur (H) - 4th
08/04 Manchester United (A) - 3rd

Average position of next four opponents : 6.5 (joint-hardest)

West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Everton FC at London Stadium (Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images))

19th Southampton (P25 21pts)

11/03 Manchester United (A) - 3rd
15/03 Brentford (H) - 9th
18/03 Tottenham Hotspur (H) - 4th
02/04 West Ham United (A) - 16th

Average position of next four opponents : 8 (fourth hardest)

20th AFC Bournemouth (P25 21pts)

11/03 Liverpool (H) - 5th
18/03 Aston Villa (A) - 11th
01/04 Fulham (H) - 7th
04/04 Brighton and Hove Albion (H) - 8th

Average position of next four opponents : 7.75 (third hardest)

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