by Donald Willoughby
West Ham have fallen on some hard times . But the bookmakers have assessed them as having no greater than an average 6/1 risk of going down.
It could be that survival comes at the cost of David Moyes’ job down the line, who is one of the most fancied bosses to go next in the EPL Sack Race.
But before jumping into any West Ham betting odds, snap up any UK betting offers first from an operator to see if you can pull out anything extra like an odds boost, or a free bet bonus. On this page, we are going to look at who West Ham could finish above in this season’s standings.
Stick Or Twist?
David Moyes has probably been feeling hot under the collar this winter. The pressure on the Scotsman’s tenure at the club has been rising to a potential boiling point. Having set such a high bar since his return to the club, it is only natural that hard times are going to seem even worse.
But would a change of manager help? Could the transfer market be a way out of trouble for West Ham? Do they even need to rock the boat too much or simply just keep plugging away?
Top Club in London?
There is no way that the Hammers are going to finish the season as the best club in London. A long way from it. It is not even a football betting option to consider. In fact, they are in danger of ending the campaign as the worst club in the capital.
They came close to that at the end of the 2019/20 season when they finished 16th. Watford however, finished in the bottom three to spare their blushes. Just two seasons before that, Watford had been the only London club to finish beneath them.
With Brentford and Fulham outperforming them, It’s a far cry from West Ham’s excellent 2020/21 campaign where only Chelsea prevented the Hammers from being London’s top club. Last season they finished behind the Blues, Tottenham and Arsenal but still in a good 7th spot.
For the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, the Irons have been badly trailing other fellow Londoners. At the halfway point of the season, the West Ham were one of only two London clubs in the bottom half of the league standings (Crystal Palace)
West Ham To Finish Above?
While they were shaking up in the top seven last season with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, West Ham can’t be worried about being so London-centric this go around. This is now all about survival and everyone is fair game.
To avoid relegation the mentality could be setting targets about who they can finish ahead of. This presents an interesting football betting angle for West Ham.
West Ham To Finish Above Leicester @ 4/5
The Hammers are 4/5 odds-on to bank a higher finish in this season’s Premier League than Leicester. They topped the Foxes by four points last term. Leicester have been a defensive shambles this season, far worse than West Ham have been.
Star player James Maddison has a dodgy knee, so there’s a chance that the Irons could again finish higher than Leicester. Those odds of them doing so, suggest that West Ham will be alright this season.
West Ham To Finish Above Crystal Palace @ 13/8
A quote of 13/8 can be snapped up on West Ham finishing above Crystal Palace. They have finished above the Eagles for the last two seasons straight. Even back in the 2019/20 season when they didn’t, West Ham were well safe from relegation.
Palace comfortably looked the better of the two sides this season of the first half of the campaign. This could go either way though, as Palace have hit rough patches. It seems like a stretch that Palace would get into relegation trouble this season, so if West Ham get above them, all should be rosy.
West Ham To Finish Above Aston Villa @ 9/4
The arrival of Unai Emery at Villa Park has seen Aston Villa turn around their early season struggles. That’s been bad news for West Ham as up until then, the Midlanders were being touted as potential relegation candidates.
They do still look like being on slightly shaky ground but are only likely to get stronger, particularly defensively under Emery as the season wears on. Villa finished 11 points behind the Hammers last season, the tables will probably be turned.
West Ham To Finish Above Brighton @ 14/1
The departure of Graham Potter to Chelsea could have derailed Brighton’s solid Premier League status. However, toward the end of 2022, they beat Wolves, Southampton and Everton all away from home.
Those are the three teams beneath West Ham at the time of writing. That’s a fair indicator of a gulf between the Seagulls and teams in a relegation scrap. West Ham would need a massive surge to reel in and pass Brighton.
West Ham To Finish Above Chelsea @ 33/1
West Ham finished within two points of Chelsea in the 2020/21 campaign. But the way Chelsea’s current season under Graham Potter has fallen apart makes this an interesting betting prospect.
On current standings, the Blues are a long way from being a top-four prospect. It’s been a miserable slump by the Blues with a disjointed, injury-ridden squad with no one to put the ball in the back of the net. Does that mean that West Ham could catch them?
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If we get rid of David Moyes and get someone who is a good Player Manager. We could finish in the middle win in Europe and win the FA Cup.