Taty Castellanos set for instant West Ham impact after remarkable Nottingham Forest reveal
Taty Castellanos could play a huge role in West Ham’s must-win showdown against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
West Ham announced the signing of Castellanos on Monday after a £26.1million fee was agreed with Italian outfit Lazio.
The 27-year-old already has five goal contributions in 11 Serie A matches this season, and joins fellow new arrival Pablo as an addition to West Ham’s attack.
The Hammers are four points behind 17th-placed Forest, and a win is needed if they want to avoid being cut adrift from safety.
Castellanos has been registered in time to feature against Forest, and a stunning stat regarding West Ham‘s tendency to score late goals against them could give the Argentine a debut to remember.
West Ham love a late goal against Nottingham Forest
West Ham left it late to beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground on 31 August in their previous meeting this season.
Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, and Callum Wilson’s goals from the 84th minute onwards condemned a Forest side that was managed by Nuno Espirito Santo to a damaging defeat.
Since their return to the Premier League in 2022, nine of the 11 goals Nottingham Forest have conceded against West Ham have come in the final 20 minutes of games.
| Date | Result |
| 31 August (a) | 3-0 W |
| 18 May (h) | 2-1 L |
| 2 November (a) | 3-0 L |
| 17 February (a) | 2-0 L |
| 12 November (h) | 3-2 W |
To make matters worse for the visitors, each of the last five goals has come in the final 10 minutes.
With Castellanos unlikely to start, he could be primed for a substitute appearance, especially if West Ham are chasing the game.
Having described himself as an aggressive forward upon joining the Hammers, he could be exactly what they need if they are to win just their third match at the London Stadium this season.
Nuno is in desperate need of a win for his own future, and the underlying stats don’t make for good reading at all against Sean Dyche.
West Ham set for worst winless run in 19 years if they fail to beat Forest
Despite their tendency to score late goals against Forest, the other stats don’t point to a West Ham win.
Having not won in nine games, the Hammers last had a longer run without a win in the competition between December 2006 and March 2007 (11 games).
West Ham are also winless in their last eight evening kick-offs (7 pm or later) in the Premier League since a 2-0 win over Leicester last February.
They failed to register a single shot on target in their 3-0 loss at Wolves at the weekend, inexplicably handing them their first win of the season.
It’s the third time Nuno’s side have done so in the Premier League this season (also vs Arsenal and Liverpool), with no side failing in more different games (Burnley also on three).
In what will be West Ham’s biggest game under Nuno, Jarrod Bowen must captain his side to a monumental win in E20.
Otherwise, the repercussions will be catastrophic.
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