They couldn't… could they? West Brom's back-to-back wins have given them hope in their fight against relegation... is Big Sam about to engineer his greatest EVER escape, starting against Leicester tonight?

It wasn't long ago that all seemed lost for West Brom as Premier League relegation loomed.

A 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on March 13 saw the Baggies go into the international break 10 points off safety and still waiting for some impact from Sam Allardyce's appointment.

But their performances since then have been nothing short of sublime with six points taken from a possible six and mounting belief that they could pull off the impossible. 

West Brom secured another impressive win in their fight to avoid the drop when they beat Southampton last time out

The first came at Stamford Bridge on April 3 when the Baggies inflicted Thomas Tuchel's first defeat as Chelsea manager with a scintillating display of attacking football.

At first it appeared it would be another afternoon of frustration for Allardyce as he watched his side go behind to Christian Pulisic's goal in the 27th minute.

But Thiago Silva's red card in the 29th minute completely flipped the match on its head and West Brom took full control.

Matheus Pereira and Callum Robinson both scored twice and Mbaye Diagne also found the back of the net as the Baggies produced a brutal display of clinical finishing that has often been lacking in their game this season.

Mason Mount pulled one back for Chelsea but it was too late. They had been blown away and fell to a 5-2 defeat. 

Victory moved West Brom to within seven points of Newcastle before the Magpies' draw with Tottenham a day later put the gap back to eight.

But things got even better for West Brom on the Monday night. 

Seemingly desperate to show the performance at Chelsea was not a one off, they raced out of the blocks against Southampton and could have realistically been three goals up before they eventually went in front.

Pereira was the man to eventually find the back of the net, firing home from 12 yards after being hauled down by a rash tackle from Fraser Forster inside the penalty area.

Matt Phillips put Allardyce's men in full control just minutes later and Robinson's fine finish in the second half ensured the Baggies walked away with their biggest home win in the Premier League since November 2016. 

West Brom fans must be asking where this sort of form has been all season and why have they only turned it on with the club facing a seemingly impossible situation to avoid a return to the Championship.

But the nature of both wins points not only to a shift in quality in the final third, but also to a psychological resilience that has been absent for large parts of the season too.

They needed to rally in the face of adversity against Saints after Diagne had what appeared to be a perfectly good goal ruled out by VAR.

VAR Kevin Friend somehow decided there was insufficient evidence to overturn the on-pitch decision of offside, even though TV replays suggested the striker was onside when he headed home from close range.

A win over Southampton was even more critical given Newcastle had impressively come from behind to beat Burnley at Turf Moor on the Sunday.

Steve Bruce's side have enjoyed a mini-revival of late and the gap to 17th place - now occupied by Burnley - stands at nine points with seven games to go. 

Securing survival from this position would be Allardyce's greatest escape yet and the joint-best survival bid since West Ham in 2006-07, which is the only other time a club has been 10 points from safety with nine games to go (as the Baggies were before the Chelsea win).

So can they do it?

A quick look at West Brom's remaining fixtures suggest it will be very tough to get out of it from here, despite their recent performances.

They have three Midlands derbies on the horizon, starting with a trip to Leicester on tonight. Brendan Rodgers' side are in desperate need of three points to resurrect their Champions League hopes. 

West Brom then travel to Aston Villa on April 25 and host Wolves on May 1 before a tough triple-header of games that sees them play teams vying for European football next season.

The Baggies go to Arsenal on May 8 and will be confident of repeating their Chelsea heroics before two home games against Liverpool and West Ham on May 11 and May 15.

West Brom then end the season away at Leeds United in what could be a thrilling final day with Fulham also hosting Newcastle.

Is it too little too late, though? Allardyce certainly didn't give the impression he was confident of overturning the deficit  when it was eight points.

'These two wins are making people prick up their ears,' he said. Unfortunately we have to rely on others losing as well as us winning.

'Games are running out, it's just a pity we didn't turn it around five or six games ago, as our performances deserved.'

But even if they do fall short, the pair of recent wins show West Brom are guaranteed to provide us with a thrilling conclusion in the race to avoid the drop.