Leeds boss Sam Allardyce admits their clash at West Ham on Sunday is close to a must-win.

Allardyce, however, remains optimistic of beating the drop.

He said, "I'd have said it would be 60% to 65% sure we'd stay up if we'd have won that game. Now we've got to win at West Ham.

"It wouldn't have been essential to win this weekend if we'd won on Saturday. We could have made sure we'd not lose and then go into the last game. We've got to remember time is running out and errors will be punished.

"It is a difficult situation if you find teams have won and you need to get three points to stay in the race. We have to deal with it and make it spur us on. No matter what happens on Saturday we need a three-point scenario at West Ham to try to save our Premier League status. The question is, can they handle that? They certainly did last week, apart from the silly errors we made.

"When you consider Newcastle have just battered Brighton 4-1, it gives an indication of how far we've come in a short period of time. When Manchester City battered Real Madrid and you see what we did to stay in the game, it shows good indicators without a point or three points. We are moving in the right direction, but obtaining a first clean sheet is crucial."

Allardyce added "We can normally guess the team that is going to be picked but it is very difficult to look at this one. [David Moyes] made nine changes when they played Brentford last week, and of course our preparation is to try to predict a team, work out how West Ham play and do a little bit of practice against that, both offensively and defensively.

"He might change the team but he will probably play the same way. I'm pleased for him [reaching a European final]; I've known him many years. He's had a fantastic career. Hopefully when we are having a drink afterwards, it is us who have the three points, not him."