The key numbers ahead of West Ham's crucial Premier League clash against Newcastle

West Ham's Crysencio Summerville challenges Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes
West Ham's Crysencio Summerville challenges Newcastle's Bruno GuimaraesČTK / imago sportfotodienst / David Klein

Sunday evening sees West Ham play Newcastle at St. James' Park in what is an absolutely must-win game for the Hammers.

If Nuno Espirito Santo's side fail to pick up all three points and Tottenham then go on to win at Chelsea on Tuesday, the Irons will be relegated.

Vital game for West Ham

Beat the Magpies and Spurs lose at Stamford Bridge, and their Premier League lives are in the hands of the West Ham players.

The other scenario which could play out is if West Ham win and the Lilywhites draw, they both go into the final day on level points, and if both win, it still goes to the final game, with the North Londoners holding all the aces.

Newcastle did lose at home to the East Londoners last season, but they've not lost consecutive home games against them since 1998.

Eddie Howe may look to his players to show a similar spirit to when they were seemingly down and out against the Hammers a couple of seasons ago, after going 3-1 behind, only to come back and win 4-3.

No goals for West Ham in their last three away matches

The Magpies have only kept one clean sheet in their last 14 games, which was a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in March, so the visitors could have rich pickings if they can get their attacking game going.

They did just that in their 3-1 win against Newcastle earlier this season; however, West Ham will be mindful that they've only done the double over the North East giants twice in the Premier League era: in 1998/99 and 2018/19.

West Ham's recent results
West Ham's recent resultsFlashscore

Furthermore, they've not scored in their last three away games and, coincidentally, the last time that happened, back in 2015, their fourth away game of the run was at Newcastle, and was their final away match of that season.

Howe could also be concerned that his side has dropped more points (27) from winning positions than any other Premier League side this season, and has gained the fewest points (three) after going behind than anyone else.

Newcastle need to set the tempo

They've also conceded 20 goals in the final 15 minutes of games this season, which is the most of any team in the division during 2025/26.

However, they're up against a West Ham side that are the worst passers in the division in terms of total passes made (13,252).

Therefore, if Howe can get his ball players on the front foot early in the game, it's entirely possible the hosts could overwhelm their visitors.

Of the last six meetings between the sides, Newcastle have won three, West Ham have two wins, and the other game was drawn.

Soucek loves playing against the Magpies

In terms of goal scorers, Tomas Soucek loves playing against the Magpies.

The Czech ace's five goals against them are the most he's scored against one opponent in the English top-flight, and he's also just one goal contribution from being the second Czech player in Premier League history to reach 50 goal involvements.

Currently, Soucek has 41 goals and eight assists, and he'll join Patrik Berger (38 goals, 31 assists) in a very exclusive club with his next contribution.

Callum Wilson has proved to be something of a talisman for West Ham of late, and if he were to grab a brace at St. James' Park, he'd become only the third player to score twice against two of his former clubs in the same Premier League season, after doing so against Bournemouth back in November.

The only other players to complete the feat are Nicolas Anelka in 2006/07 for Bolton against Arsenal and Man City, and Chris Wood in 2023/24 for Nottingham Forest against Burnley and Newcastle.

Newcastle dangermen

Jarrod Bowen continues to lead the line for his side, but has only scored twice since the end of January, and such a poor output seems to have somewhat gone under the radar.

For Newcastle, Anthony Gordon has been the main man, though he, too, has only three Premier League goals since January 31st. However, he is unlikely to play, due to speculation linking him with a move away. 

He's closely followed by Harvey Barnes, who has 21 goal involvements so far this season in all competitions, his most ever. His two goals in that 4-3 win back in 2024 also included a late winner, and he'd undoubtedly settle for the same scenario again.

The hosts are still without Lewis Miley, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento, whilst Joelinton faces a late fitness test and is currently rated at 50/50 to play any part in the game.

For the Hammers, Lukasz Fabianski is definitely out, with Adama Traore likely to take a late fitness test to determine his availability.

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Jason Pettigrove
Jason PettigroveFlashscore
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