Despite taking a significant step towards survival with a much-needed victory over Watford, no West Ham fans will take it for granted that the Hammers are safe yet. Indeed, with Huddersfield, Swansea and Newcastle picking up three points at the weekend, the relegation battle still looks really tight.

Five points separate 18^th placed Southampton (26 points) from 10^th placed Bournemouth (31 points). The Hammers, in 11^th with 30 points, have eleven games remaining. At least 10 more points are needed for survival. While that may seem easily achievable, consider the fact that West Ham must play Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in those remaining games.

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Below is an overview of the upcoming three fixtures, in which West Ham can, hopefully, take some big steps towards securing Premier League football next season.

Liverpool (A), 24^th February:

It’s taken as a given that everyone fears going to Anfield. But, while it is something of a fortress for Liverpool, they nevertheless do drop points there from time to time. They have actually drawn six of their thirteen games there this season, which should give Hammers fans a modicum of hope. Bet365 have put the home win in as a banker at 1/5, with West Ham available at 12/1. A good middle ground between realism and ambition would be to back the draw at 11/2.

Frankly though, Liverpool battered West Ham in their 4-1 at the London Stadium in November. It was one of the worst home performances under Bilic, in what turned out to be the Croatian’s last game in charge. Although, in Bilic’s defence, few teams could have set up to cope with Mo Salah and Sadio Mané on that particular night. Let’s hope they are somewhat more subdued at Anfied this time around.

Swansea (A), 3^rd March:

You really must give Swansea credit, because they looked doomed just a couple of weeks ago. They are currently unbeaten in five and have looked a team rejuvenated, one who look likely to avoid the drop. Betfair have (rightly) stuck them down as 13/10 favourites for this match, which seems fair given their form. West Ham are available at 23/10, with the draw at 12/5. You can claim a Premier League free bet to use on any of these matches throughout the rest of the season.

You would really think that Moyes would be happy with a point in this one. In fact, Carlos Carvalhal probably would be too. Both sides have had their terrible patches this season and both will hopefully limp through to the finish line, recalibrate and build for next season.

Burnley (H), 10^th March:

This is exactly the sort of fixture that West Ham should win: Burnley have not won in 10 games and would have been sucked into the relegation battle if they had not built such a huge cushion at the start of the season. However, it is also the sort of fixture that West Ham can somehow manage to throw away – think back to the 3-2 home defeat to Newcastle in December.

Still, Moyes and the players should be confident about getting the win here. Those three points, coupled with one or two from Swansea and Liverpool, would put West Ham in a really strong position with eight games remaining. Manchester United are next after the Burnley game and, despite their recent struggles, West Ham will not want to play them without having picked up a few points in these games.