EPL: West Ham Grind Out Point at Palace to Extend Gap Over Spurs in Relegation Fight

Scrappy stalemate suits West Ham more than Palace

West Ham earned a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace to move two points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham with five games left. Sarr had a goal ruled out. Palace missed a chance for three straight H2H wins over West Ham. The 0-0 leaves the Eagles mid-table, safe from relegation.

Ismaila Sarr’s late strike was ruled out for handball as Palace and West Ham played out a goalless draw at Selhurst Park...

West Ham moved another step closer to safety with a potentially crucial Premier League point from a 0-0 London derby at Selhurst Park. The draw denied Crystal Palace a chance to post three straight home wins in all competitions for the first time this season.

After reaching the Conference League semi-finals, Palace might have been excused for losing league focus. But 13 points from their previous seven games (W4, D1, L2) showed Oliver Glasner’s team were still in the fight, and they matched West Ham through a tight opening 15 minutes.

Brennan Johnson’s difficult start at Palace continued in the first half. He guided a free header off target before dragging a shot wide of Mads Hermansen’s post minutes later.

 

West Ham answered with their own bright spell and nearly punished a mistimed punch from Dean Henderson, but Taty Castellanos’ acrobatic bicycle kick was blocked on the line by Maxence Lacroix.

  

The half’s best opening came right before the break, yet Konstantinos Mavropanos couldn’t extend his recent scoring run. His powerful header was tipped away by Henderson.

Clear chances were scarce in a scrappy start to the second half, which prompted Glasner to make a triple substitution just before the hour.

 

The stop-start contest cried out for a spark, but with 15 minutes left it was still 0-0 and very much in the balance.

Home fans thought they’d found a winner when substitute Ismaila Sarr spun and fired in from close range, only for Jean-Philippe Mateta’s handball in the build-up to see it ruled out.

 

That was the final real moment of note as West Ham held on for what could prove a valuable point in their Premier League survival fight.

It ends goalless at Selhurst Park, and @WestHam move a point further away from the bottom three ⚒️

That result confirms Wolves' relegation from the Premier League pic.twitter.com/f6aAVQd4TF

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 20, 2026

Nuno Espirito Santo is now winless in six against Palace (D4, L2), but he won’t be too concerned. The point restored West Ham’s two-point gap over 18th-placed Tottenham with five games left.

  

Palace missed the chance to win three straight H2Hs for the first time in club history. But Eagles fans won’t lose sleep over it - they’re secure in mid-table and still in the mix for Conference League or even Europa League qualification.

Relegation isn’t a worry for Palace, unlike bottom side Wolves, whose drop has now been officially confirmed.