London Derbies Key to West Ham’s European Push Under Potter in 2025/26

West Ham United will head into the 2025/26 Premier League season eager to force their way into contention for European qualification.

Since returning to the Premier League in 2012, the Hammers have finished in the top of the standings in six of the 13 seasons they have contested.

Their sixth placed finish in 2021/21 is their best return during that period. They also finished seventh in 2015/16 and 2021/22.

The last three seasons have been a mixed bag, with the Hammers sandwiching a ninth placed finish in 2023/24 between two disappointing campaigns where they finished 14th.

One of the most striking elements of West Ham’s record since returning to the top flight is their largely underwhelming results in London derbies.

The Hammers have faced seven clubs from the capital since 2012/13 and collected 136 points from a possible 384. Here is their overall record over the past 13 seasons.

	ARS	CHE	TOT	FUL	QPR	CRY	BRE	PTS	POS
2012/13	1-3 1-5	3-1 0-2	2-3 1-3	3-0 1-3	1-1 2-1			10/30	10TH
2013/14	1-3 1-3	0-3 0-0	2-0 3-0	3-0 1-2		0-1 0-1		10/30	13TH
2014/15	1-2 0-3	0-1 0-2	0-1 2-2		2-0 0-0	1-3 3-1		8/30	12TH
2015/16	3-3 2-0	2-1 2-2	1-0 1-4			2-2 3-1		15/24	7TH
2016/17	1-5 0-3	1-2 1-2	1-0 2-3			3-0 1-0		9/24	11TH
2017/18	0-0 1-4	0-3 1-1	2-3 1-1			1-1 2-2		5/24	13TH
2018/19	1-0 1-3	0-0 0-2	0-1 1-0	3-1 2-0		3-2 1-1		17/30	10TH
2019/20	1-3 0-1	3-2 1-0	2-3 0-2			1-2 1-2		6/24	16TH
2020/21	3-3 1-2	0-1 0-3	2-1 3-3	1-0 0-0		1-1 3-2		13/30	6TH
2021/22	1-2 0-2	3-2 0-1	1-0 1-3			2-2 3-2	1-2 0-2	10/30	7TH
2022/23	2-2 1-3	1-1 1-2	1-1 0-2	3-1 1-0		1-2 3-4	0-2 0-2	9/36	14TH
2023/24	0-6 2-0	3-1 0-5	1-1 2-1	0-2 0-5		1-1 2-5	4-2 2-3	14/36	9TH
2024/25	2-5 1-0	0-3 1-2	1-1 1-4	3-2 1-1		0-2 2-0	0-1 1-1	12/36	14TH
TOTALS	14/78	23/78	30/78	26/42	8/12	31/72	4/24

West Ham’s London derby record is worrying

While it is worth noting that there are a couple of outliers in the data, the general picture from West Ham’s London derbies is undoubtedly concerning.

Of the seven London clubs they have faced since 2012/13, they have only picked up more than half of the points against just two of them – Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.

Their record against each team can be questioned given that both clubs bounced between the Premier League and Championship during the timeframe studied.

Looking at the other end of the scale, the Hammers’ record against Arsenal and Chelsea leaves a lot to be desired, with the team collecting 37 points from a possible 156 in the last 13 seasons.

While both those clubs expect to regularly challenge for silverware, West Ham have clearly not been making life too difficult for them in recent years.

A more concerning element of the data is West Ham’s inability to take more points from their fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Brentford.

They have picked up just 65 points out of a possible 174, which is not good enough for a team with ambitions of regularly competing for European qualification.

Two seasons particularly stand out as perfect examples of the importance of London derbies – 2015/16 and 2020/21.

The Hammers collected 15 points out of a possible 24 in 2015/16 to finish seventh in the Premier League. That was enough to earn qualification to the Europa League.

In 2020/21, their tally from London derbies slipped to 13 points from a possible 30. They ended the season in sixth place with 65 points to qualify for the Europa League again.

However, their points per game (PPG) tally in derby matches was 1.30, which negatively impacted their season PPG of 1.71.

That ultimately proved to be the difference between finishing in third place and securing qualification for the 2021/22 Champions League.

While the Hammers enjoyed a memorable run in the Europa League that season, they missed out on the financial windfall of playing in the top competition.

The Hammers need to step things up this season

West Ham will once again face 12 games against London rivals during the 2025/26 season. Here is their full schedule (London derbies highlighted):

• Saturday, August 16 – Sunderland (A)
• Friday, August 22 – Chelsea (H)
• Sunday, August 31 – Nottingham Forest (A)
• Saturday, September 13 – Tottenham Hotspur (H)
• Saturday, September 20 – Crystal Palace (H)
• Monday, September 29 – Everton (A)
• Saturday, October 4 – Arsenal (A)
• Saturday, October 18 – Brentford (H)
• Saturday, October 25 – Leeds United (A)
• Saturday, November 1 – Newcastle United (H)
• Saturday, November 8 – Burnley (H)
• Saturday, November 22 – Bournemouth (A)
• Saturday, November 29 – Liverpool (H)
• Wednesday, December 3 – Manchester United (A)
• Saturday, December 6 – Brighton & Hove Albion (A)
• Saturday, December 13 – Aston Villa (H)
• Saturday, December 20 – Manchester City (A)
• Saturday, December 27 – Fulham (H)
• Tuesday, December 30 – Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
• Saturday, January 3 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)
• Wednesday, January 7 – Nottingham Forest (H)
• Saturday, January 17 – Tottenham Hotspur (A)
• Saturday, January 24 – Sunderland (H)
• Saturday, January 31 – Chelsea (A)
• Saturday, February 7 – Burnley (A)
• Wednesday, February 11 – Manchester United (H)
• Saturday, February 21 – Bournemouth (H)
• Saturday, February 28 – Liverpool (A)
• Wednesday, March 4 – Fulham (A)
• Saturday, March 14 – Manchester City (H)
• Saturday, March 21 – Aston Villa (A)
• Saturday, April 11 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)
• Saturday, April 18 – Crystal Palace (A)
• Saturday, April 25 – Everton (H)
• Saturday, May 2 – Brentford (A)
• Saturday, May 9 – Arsenal (H)
• Sunday, May 17 – Newcastle United (A)
• Sunday, May 24 – Leeds United (H)

Given their record in London derbies over the past few seasons, West Ham may look at their early fixtures with more than a little trepidation.

Of their first eight matches, five are against clubs from the capital. The other three are tricky away fixtures at Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Everton.

While many people believe that the order of fixtures is inconsequential, the Hammers’ recent derby record is worrying.

Manager Graham Potter has historically not fared well in derbies at previous clubs and his early record with West Ham has continued in the same vein.

The Hammers won just two of their six London derbies under Potter last season and he will be desperate to improve that record this time around.

The 50-year-old did not endear himself to the club’s fans towards the end of last season when he made some ill-advised comments about Tottenham.

He spoke positively about their run in the Europa League, infuriating many West Ham supporters. Spurs’ subsequent success in the competition did little to dampen the fire.

While Potter cannot rescind the comments he made, the upcoming 2025/26 season offers him the chance to make amends by improving West Ham’s derby record.

Gaining an understanding the importance of local rivalries will help Potter garner favour with the fans. Positive results would further aid his cause.

Although local pride does not necessarily define an entire season, it can be a building block towards a club securing a positive outcome at the end of the campaign.

Club must back Potter in the transfer market

If Potter is to guide West Ham towards the upper echelons of the Premier League, the club’s bosses must back him in the summer transfer window.

Hammers fans have become increasingly concerned over the lack of signings with less than three weeks remaining before the season opener at Sunderland.

However, there have been some positive signs during pre-season, with Potter’s side recording victories over Grasshoppers and Everton.

The showed plenty of determination in a narrow 2-1 defeat against Manchester United, and the general spirit in the squad seems much improved.

Shipping Mohammed Kudus off to Tottenham appears to have worked the oracle, as he was reportedly a troublesome character in the dressing room.

The summer additions of El Hadji Malick Diouf and Kyle Walker-Peters are both positive moves, but more signings are needed before the transfer window closes.

They have been rumours of behind-the-scenes tensions regarding the club’s transfer business, with Potter reportedly against bringing free agent Callum Wilson to the club.

Concerns regarding adhering to Profit and Sustainability Rules have added fuel to the fire, but Hammers officials have claimed that everything is under control.

Potter is currently in the midst of his first pre-season with a squad of players since 2022, when he was in charge at Brighton & Hove Albion.

This offers him the opportunity to impart his ideas more effectively and will hopefully deliver the same results he achieved with the Seagulls.

The club has several holes to plug in Potter’s squad and the next few weeks will be crucial in ensuring he has the right tools to work with.

Kyle Macaulay followed Potter to West Ham as the head of recruitment, having been a trusted ally throughout his managerial career.

Their pre-existing relationship should be crucial as West Ham strive to establish themselves as a regular fixture in the top half of the Premier League.

Some shrewd additions before the transfer window closes, coupled with improvement in London derbies, could be the catalyst for the Hammers to enjoy a more productive season.