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Konstantinos Mavropanos and Valentin 'Taty' Castellanos scored second-half braces as West Ham United climbed out of the bottom three and put 20th-place Wolves on the precipice of relegation after a 4-0 affair at the London Stadium on Friday.
Mavropanos' first-half header gave the Irons an advantage at the break of a pretty even game, but Castellanos scored twice in three second-half minutes before Mavropanos completed his brace in the 83rd minute.
WATCH — West Ham v Wolves full match replay
West Ham climb into 17th place with 32 points, level on points with 16th-place Nottingham Forest and one back of Leeds United. More importantly, they move Spurs into the bottom three.
Wolves remain on 17 points and are 15 back of safety with just six matches and 18 possible points left on their fixture list.
Nuno Espirito Santo gets it done, pains three former clubs
It has to be the strangest of times for West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo, whose team moves into 17th place while pushing one former club (Wolves, 20th place) to the brink of relegation, another into the bottom three (18th-place Spurs), and turns its attention a club that fired him earlier this year in 16th-place Nottingham Forest. If you're club is not constrained to some sort of mandatory-attacking ethos or under delusions of grandeur, you can do far worse than the solid, veteran, likable Portuguese. And the way the Irons have attacked in recent weeks, supporters might be dreaming of what Nuno can do with a clean slate in the summer. As for Wolves, Rob Edwards' men have had to find and ride a hot streak for pretty much the entirety of his tenure at the club and it seems they've simply run out of gas. They'll be favored to come right back up next season should they retain the boss who led a much smaller club, Luton Town, to promotion a few years ago.
What’s next?
West Ham wait 10 days for their next game, April 20 at Crystal Palace, while Wolves go to Leeds on Saturday, April 18.
West Ham vs Wolves live updates, score: 4-0
Konstantinos Mavropanos 42', 83', Valentin Castellanos 66', 68'
Konstantinos Mavropanos goal — West Ham 1-0 Wolves
Mavropanos cleans up a mess and is an unlikely brace-bagger for the Irons!
Back-to-back goals for Irons — West Ham 3-0 Wolves
Valentin 'Taty' Castellanos has been knocking on the door the past few games and now he's freely going in and out of the room.
First, young Wolves star Mateus Mane has a giveaway and Castellanos works a 1-2 with Pablo Felipe to make it 2-0.
Two minutes later, Bowen steals the ball and Castellanos' hit takes a turn and beats Sa for 3-0.
Halftime — West Ham 1-0 Wolves
Shots turned 7-6 in favor of West Ham over the past few minutes, and possession is close enough to an equal share.
Either side could be in front, so credit to Mavropanos for taking his header.
Jose Sa keeps deficit one
Pablo Felipe runs onto a slick entry pass from Taty Castellanos, and tries Jose Sa to his near post from close range.
Sa does well to limit the damage to a corner kick.
Konstantinos Mavropanos goal — West Ham 1-0 Wolves
Jarrod Bowen wins a corner kick, then sees his first effort partially cleared by Wolves' line.
It's cycled back to Bowen, whose cross is met by a leaping Mavropanos and turned into the goal.
1-0, 42'
Armstrong saved
Adam Armstrong turns a header toward goal and Mads Hermansen has time to adjust his body and collect the ball.
Armstrong is making something out of small chances and West Ham's backs aren't exactly on their toes through 35 minutes.
0-0, 36'.
Even enough to start
Wolves have had more of the ball and more shot attempts through 15-16 minutes, but the lion's share of that came in a very bright first few minutes.
0-0, 17'.
West Ham lineup
Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Disasi, Mavropanos, Diouf, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville, Bowen, Felipe, Castellanos
Wolves lineup
Sa, Tchatchoua, Mosquera, S. Bueno, Krejci, H. Bueno, Andre, J. Gomes, Bellegarde, A. Gomes, Armstrong
West Ham vs Wolves preview
Irons boss Nuno Espirito Santo hopes to keep his improved former club from boosting their meager safety hopes, as Wolves are 13 points back of 17th-place Tottenham Hotspur with a maximum of 21 points left on their dance card.
WATCH — West Ham v Wolves
Both teams are much improved from horrendous starts to the season. West Ham started 1W-1D-7L and only won thrice in their first 21 matches before going 4W-3D-3L since January 17.
Wolves were historically bad, not winning a Premier League match and drawing only three times before a Week 20 win over…. West Ham. They've since gone 3W-6D-4L including an active three-match unbeaten run that has come with wins over fourth-place Aston Villa and fifth-place Liverpool.
West Ham team news, focus
OUT: Lukasz Fabianski (back) | QUESTIONABLE: Konstantinos Mavropanos (head), Jean-Clair Todibo (calf), Crysencio Summerville (lower leg), Alphonse Areola (calf)
Wolves team news, focus
OUT: Enso Medina (knee), Sam Johnstone (knock)
West Ham vs Wolves prediction
A draw won't get West Ham out of the relegation zone because of goal differential (unless Spurs lose by 12 goals this weekend), and a point would essentially be a significant nail in Wolves' relegation coffin. Both teams are spirited and committed, and it does seem like their seasons may dictate a draw, especially as West Ham are coming off a draining 120-minute FA Cup exit to Leeds. West Ham 1-1 Wolves.
How to watch West Ham vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off time:3pm ET Friday
Venue:The London Stadium — East London
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch on USA
