Credit: Imago

James Barker

Sun 15 March 2026 16:10, UK

Nuno Espirito Santo is going to have some tough selection calls on his hands before the end of West Ham United’s season.

It’s fair to say that Nuno got his selection decisions pretty much spot on against Man City on Saturday, with the Hammers earning a 1-1 draw from Pep Guardiola’s side.

West Ham are now unbeaten in their last two Premier League games, and are giving themselves a real chance of staying in the top flight this season.

However, with West Ham facing a tough trip to Aston Villa next Sunday, Nuno will once again have to get his personnel calls for his starting XI bang on once more if they are to take anything from Villa Park.

Why Callum Wilson should start over Taty Castellanos

Callum Wilson signed a new one-year contract with West Ham over the last week, which marked a complete U-turn in his Hammers future, having previously been in talks to leave the London Stadium in the winter window.

Alas, the 34-year-old has now signed on for one more year with the Irons, and will be hoping that’s not going to be spent in the Championship.

If that isn’t to be the case, then it may well be in Nuno’s best interests to start the veteran striker over his big-money winter addition in Taty Castellanos, who hasn’t quite produced the goods in front of goal as of yet.

As per Sofascore, despite playing 14 Premier League games fewer than Wilson, Castellanos has already missed four big chances in 10 appearances compared to Wilson’s six in 24.

Wilson is also winning significantly more ground duels (41.9 per cent) than Castellanos (29.6 per cent), and is also giving the ball away just 4.9 times per game compared to the Argentine’s 9.5 respectively.

With West Ham scrapping for as much control in games as possible given their place in the relegation battle, having Castellanos giving the ball away twice as much per game as Wilson isn’t what Nuno wants/needs.

At this stage of the season, the Hammers need consistency and production, and whilst Castellanos provides energy and industry, Wilson is that proven and reliable producer.

Wilson has strong record vs Aston Villa

For whatever reason, certain players develop a penchant for top performances against certain sides, and for Wilson, Aston Villa are one of them.

Indeed, in 12 career appearances in all competitions against the West Midlands outfit, he’s registered six goal contributions, with four of those being goals and the other two assits respectively.

In fact, five of those goal involvements have came in the Premier League, with three goals and two assists in 11 career top-flight outings against the Villans.

Therefore, if Nuno studies the form ahead of next Sunday’s game, he may well feel inclined to give the nod to Wilson over Castellanos, and it may prove tough for the Argentine to win his spot back if that happens.