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The fight to stay in the Premier League this season appears set to go right down to the final whistle.

With Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley already confirmed for relegation to the Championship, just one more spot remains, and two teams are still at risk of dropping.

Leeds United and Nottingham Forest have managed to steer clear of danger after hitting form at the perfect time.

That leaves the London rivals, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, locked in a tense battle for survival. The Hammers currently have 36 points, two fewer than Spurs, who sit 17th in the table. Roberto De Zerbi’s men hold a major edge in terms of goal difference after West Ham’s 3-1 loss to Newcastle United: West Ham stand at -22, while Tottenham have -9.

If Spurs manage to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they will secure their Premier League status before their final-day encounter with Everton. However, a draw or defeat would keep West Ham’s hopes alive when they face Leeds United on Sunday.

With such a tense finish on the horizon, this relegation battle could be decided by the narrowest of margins. So, if Tottenham and West Ham end the season level on both points and goal difference — which would now take a considerable swing — how would the Premier League decide who stays up?

As is standard across the league, total points earned is the primary criterion, followed by goal difference.

The next deciding factor is goals scored. Tottenham have found the net 46 times this season, while West Ham have scored 43 — another razor-thin gap between the two struggling London sides.

If both clubs finish level on points, goal difference, and goals scored, their positions would then be determined by their head-to-head record.

According to Premier League regulations, the team that earned the most points in their head-to-head meetings will finish higher. If those points are also level, the next tiebreaker is the number of away goals scored in those head-to-head games.

That takes us back to this season’s two encounters between Spurs and the Hammers.

Back in September, Tottenham secured a 3-0 victory at the London Stadium against a ten-man West Ham side. Later in the season, the Hammers hit back with a 2-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With both teams earning three points each from their two meetings, the tiebreaker would then move to the away goals rule.

That means Micky Van de Ven’s 64th-minute goal in Spurs’ win at West Ham — which at the time seemed like little more than the icing on the cake of a comfortable victory — could end up being one of the most significant goals in Tottenham’s modern history.