West Ham have to capitalise on Newcastle United’s points from behind Achilles’ heel
West Ham United need to score the first goal against Newcastle United, as Eddie Howe’s side are the Premier League’s worst when trailing.
It’s now or never for West Ham in the relegation battle, as the Hammers could be relegated in gameweek 37.
Sitting 18th and two points behind 17th-placed Tottenham, Nuno Espirito Santo takes his side to Newcastle on Sunday evening for a 5.30pm kick-off.
Should they fail to beat the Magpies, then a Spurs win against Chelsea on Tuesday night would secure their Premier League status, whilst simultaneously condemning the Irons to the Championship.
As such, three points would be like gold dust for West Ham this weekend, as it would ramp the pressure up on Tottenham whilst guaranteeing both team’s fate will be decided on the final day.
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What is Newcastle’s record when falling behind in games?
West Ham are the underdogs against Newcastle, with the Tynesiders recently putting a stop to their run of five-straight defeats in all competitions.
Indeed, they beat Brighton 3-1 at St James’ Park on 2 May, before following that up with a 1-1 draw away at Nottingham Forest last Sunday respectively.
| Newcastle’s 25-26 PL stats | Result |
| Open play goals | 29 |
| Highest-rated player | Bruno Guimaraes (7.57/10 per game avg.) |
| Goals scored per game | 1.4 |
| Goals conceded per game | 1.4 |
| Average possession | 52.4% |
Many Magpies fans are far from happy with what they’ve seen from their team this season, with the character of the squad consistently called into question.
It’s not hard to see why that is when you look at their record when trailing games in the Premier League this season either.
As detailed via Transfermarkt, no top-flight team has won fewer points after falling behind in matches than Newcastle’s three in 2025-26.
Indeed, they’ve been behind on 17 separate occasions this season, and from those positions, Howe’s men have only picked up one win, with the other 16 ending in defeat.
Their one and only league win after going behind this year came in a 4-3 victory against Leeds United back in early January, after they went 1-0 down on 32 minutes that day.
How strong have Newcastle been at St James’ Park?
So, Newcastle have a clear Achilles’ heel when it comes to falling behind in games, as Howe’s side have shown a consistent inability to fight back in those situations.
The first goal, then, is going to be vital when West Ham travel to Tyneside this Sunday, but any trip to St James’ Park is never easy nor straightforward.
It’s one of the toughest and most atmospheric places to play in the Premier League as the away team, but just how strong have Newcastle been on home soil this season?
Well, 29 of their 46 points have been won at St James’, with nine wins, two draws and seven defeats from 18 games there this term.
However, they have only won one of their last five at home in all competitions, so this could be as good a time as any for West Ham to go up there and take a massive three points home with them.