Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Cameron Smith

Sat 16 May 2026 7:00, UK

Newcastle welcome West Ham United to St James’ Park on Sunday for the penultimate outing of the Premier League season.

For both sides, the 2025-26 campaign has been incredibly underwhelming, and this is most certainly the case for Nuno Espirito Santo’s struggling Irons.

With two to go, West Ham sit in the relegation zone in 18th place, two points away from safety and relegation rivals Tottenham.

And with Spurs set to play out their clash with Chelsea on Tuesday, the Hammers have the chance to make a big statement on Tyneside this weekend.

Heading into Sunday’s bout, West Ham Zone takes a look at the key details.

Form guide

After securing a return to the Champions League last term, it has been a poor campaign for Eddie Howe and Newcastle.

The Magpies are still in with an outside chance of European football, though their recent form has shown no signs of a late uptick.

On a positive note for the travelling Hammers, Newcastle are winless on home soil since March, while their most recent clash away at Nottingham Forest ended in a 1-1 draw.

Having lost their last two, West Ham’s survival chances have taken a huge hit, leaving Nuno’s side in desperate need of all three points heading into the final day.

Newcastle (last six games all competitions): DWLLLL

West Ham (last six games all competitions): LLWDWL

Head-to-head

Across 146 matches, Newcastle have the slight historical edge, with 60 wins compared to the 45 of West Ham.

This is also the case as a Premier League fixture, with the Irons winning just 16 times out of a possible 55.

Though fans will have fond memories of the reverse fixture this season, with the East Londoners coming from a goal behind to win 3-1 at the London Stadium back in November.

Team news and predicted lineups

Things remain relatively simple for Nuno on the team news front, with no real concerns ahead of Sunday.

Adama Traore is a doubt, though could make the squad following assessments, while Lukasz Fabianski continues his spell on the sidelines.

The Portuguese boss is left with big decisions to make regarding the team to start the match.

Moving away from the back five that played against Arsenal, Callum Wilson could come in for Jean-Clair Todibo to form a partnership with Taty Castellanos up top, while Kyle Walker-Peters might replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka further back to round off two changes.

On the other side, Howe will have to continue on without Emil Krafth, Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley, who are all ruled out for the season.

Fabian Schar is still a doubt, after recent struggles with an ankle injury, while Joelinton may miss the clash after picking up a thigh injury.

Predicted Newcastle XI: Pope; Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Tonali, Guimaraes, Woltemade; Murphy, Osula, Gordon

Predicted West Ham XI: Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Disasi, Mavropanos, Diouf; Fernandes, Soucek; Bowen, Castellanos, Summerville; Wilson

Newcastle man to watch: Bruno Guimaraes

Returning to the side in April after an injury layoff, midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is the key to everything under Howe.

Joining the club in 2022, the Brazilian has become a modern-day icon at St James’ Park, while his energy is something that West Ham will have to keep an eye on.

Shifting effortlessly between both boxes, Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek will have to be at their best to match Guimaraes, alongside Sandro Tonali.

We say: Newcastle 1-2 West Ham

This weekend, the Hammers could shift their survival chances once more, and with Spurs not playing until midweek, it goes without saying just how big a win on Tyneside would be.

Newcastle have proven vulnerable this season, while their home form is nothing to write home about.

If West Ham are to pick up points, now is the time, as they look to set up a final-day survival showdown.