Rio and Hoddle tip Hammers for big finish

Glenn Hoddle and Rio Ferdinand have tipped West Ham to come through and finish in the top four.

Leicester collapsed to a 4-2 home defeat against Newcastle United on Friday night and have a daunting final set of fixtures against Manchester United, Chelsea and  Spurs. Brendan Rodgers’ side remains third in the Premier League table but their latest setback has offered fourth-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed West Ham optimism they can be overhauled.

The Hammers could be just two points behind Leicester come the end of the weekend and have a much more favourable run-in against Brighton, West Brom and Southampton.

Speaking on BT Sport, Hoddle said: ‘Leicester have got the FA Cup final on their minds as well. It’s going to be a very, very hard task for me to win those games.

‘I have got a sneaky feeling that Leicester might just slip out. I think West Ham sneak in.

‘West Ham have to keep their nerve. They can be more relaxed about it.

‘If they end up in the Europa League, it’s still a fantastic season. With [Jesse] Lingard playing well, they’ve got a good team. They’ve got a good balance, good defending and can score goals.’

Rio Ferdinand said: ‘West Ham will be sitting there with the confidence and momentum they’ve got and saying the’ve got a crack on this.

‘I think Leicester might swap places with West Ham and Chelsea move up to third.”

West Ham will need to play their last four games like they are cup finals and not worry about results around them. They need to win all four games to have a chance of Champions League football next season and that should be their only focus.