West Ham face a massive dilemma as the fate of the Premier League title rests on their shoulders.

The large majority of the time you would be ridiculed for even suggesting that you want your team to lose – and rightly so – but when it’s the end of the season with nothing to play for, things may be slightly different.

West Ham have repeatedly had a massive effect on who wins the title as of late – almost always to the benefit of Manchester City. Twice they’ve caused Liverpool to drop points which led to the Citizens winning the Premier League as well as drawing with Arsenal last season. This time around, their win at Arsenal in December means the treble winners sit 2 points above the Gunners with one game remaining.

However, the Hammers travel to the Etihad on the last day of the season and could finally put their dominance to an end. The club faces a dilemma though, do they want to try and get a result against City to stop them winning the title or do they want to roll over so that Arsenal, a club who they despise, doesn’t win it.

Obviously, from the perspective of the coaches, players etc this isn’t a debate – they will try their best to win – but the majority of fans would rather lose if it means Arsenal don’t win the league.

Interestingly, there could have been a massive incentive to beat City in, what is to West Ham, a meaningless game. The club denied putting a clause in the deal with Arsenal for Declan Rice which would have seen them receive a huge bonus if the Gunners became champions of England. If this was included, then we may have seen a lot more urgency from the players as it could have given the club a boost in what will be a massive transfer window.

Ultimately though, with the abysmal football they’ve been playing, there’s not many teams you’d actually trust the Hammers to beat. Even if every single player was at their very best, a lot of the time there is simply no stopping City, particularly in big games. They’ve been in this situation so many times before and that will give them a massive edge over Arteta’s side which is perhaps why Moyes holds so little hope.

“It’d be difficult stopping their U14’s winning the title,” the gaffer joked. “But I’ve said to the players we will go and give everything – professional would be the word I would use. We will try to do the best we can.”

Moyes clearly has a much more of a lighthearted perspective on the situation compared to Ange Postecoglou, who was seething with some Tottenham fans for celebrating the fact they lost to City.

While fans will still be overjoyed if they beat Pep’s side, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the away fans joining in with the poznan if they’re losing, alongside some chants aimed towards their former captain Declan Rice. Either way, it’s going to be an entertaining and potentially hilarious end to a thrilling Premier League campaign.