Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Fri 22 May 2026 16:10, UK

West Ham United head into their final fixture of the season knowing survival is still on the line, with Leeds United standing in their way in a decisive showdown.

The pressure is firmly on the Hammers as they prepare to host Leeds at the London Stadium on Sunday, having left themselves with no margin for error.

Victory is essential, but even that may not be enough on its own. West Ham also need Everton to beat Tottenham, who begin the weekend two points clear in 17th place.

There have been occasional signs of improvement under Nuno Espirito Santo since the start of the year, yet his side have managed to spend only a fortnight outside the relegation zone.

As a result, Sunday’s meeting with Leeds has become a must-win encounter for West Ham, who are still dependent on events elsewhere in North London going their way.

Critical error costs Nuno vs Newcastle

West Ham suffered a 3-1 loss at Newcastle in their previous outing, after first-half strikes from Nick Woltemade and Will Osula put the hosts firmly in control.

Osula added his second goal of the game after the interval, before Taty Castellanos pulled one back for the Hammers with an excellent long-range effort.

Nuno’s decision to persist with the same 3-4-3 setup that had already come unstuck against Arsenal the previous week proved expensive, as it left Callum Wilson isolated in attack.

Although Newcastle stayed comfortably ahead, West Ham looked far more dangerous going forward once Wilson and Castellanos were both on the pitch.

While Wilson is past his best, and Castellanos is not the best goalscoring number nine out there, the pair were able to work with each other, and to no surprise, the Hammers looked a much more coherent side in the latter stages of the match, with the early goals costing them heavily on the day.

And the trouble is, the goals all came from a systematic error brought on by the manager.

How could West Ham line up vs Leeds?

The simple fact of the matter is that Nuno must ditch the three at the back formation that has been seen in recent weeks.

As seen in the previous table, West Ham had little to no control of the encounter at St James’ Park, and they suffered as a result.

With this in mind, the Irons must revert back to the system that served them well during the uptick in form at the start of the year.

Seeing Wilson and Castellanos as the furthest forward, the Argentine would be handed the licence to roam and cause problems in slightly deeper areas, while the pair are flanked by Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.

At this stage of his career, Wilson is unable to effectively lead a line on his own, while Castellanos is not this type of player.

With a back four, the Hammers have had, and can have much more control in midfield, while they will be less reliant on counterattacking scenarios on home soil, in a match that they absolutely have to win.

Should West Ham start well and take the ascendancy against Leeds, they could well put their London rivals Tottenham under pressure as they take on Everton.