Preview: Newcastle United vs West Ham United - prediction, team news, lineups

West Ham United play what may turn out to be their final Premier League away game for at least a year on Sunday evening, when the Irons face Newcastle United at St James' Park.

Should Nuno Espirito Santo's side slip up and Tottenham Hotspur overcome Chelsea during the week, the visitors' second-tier fate will be sealed before the final matchday.

Match preview

Prior to the start of gameweek 36, Newcastle had a chance - albeit a wafer-thin chance - of being dragged into the fight for survival, but a point on the road against Nottingham Forest ensured that the Magpies would not suffer a catastrophic relegation to the Championship.

Nevertheless, the same old problems arose for Eddie Howe at the City Ground, where Harvey Barnes's opener was cancelled out by former flame Elliot Anderson in a 1-1 draw, meaning that the Magpies have dropped a staggering 27 points from winning positions in 2025-26.

No team in the top flight has lost more points after going ahead than Newcastle, who would incredibly still be in title contention had they held onto their leads in all of those games, but Howe's side instead languish in a mediocre 13th place in the Premier League table.

Not only have Newcastle lost more points from winning positions than any other Premier League team this term, but the hosts have also won the fewest amount of points after falling behind - a mere three - and have conceded an unparalleled 20 goals in the last 15 minutes of matches.

However, four points from two games is more than Newcastle collected in their previous five top-flight contests before that, and Howe's side have strikingly netted at least twice in 13 of their 18 Premier League home matches in 2025-26, including four of their last six.

A West Ham side without a goal in back-to-back matches could do with taking a leaf out of Newcastle's attacking book, but Nuno Espirito Santo's men could feel aggrieved - rightfully or not - that their scoreless streak continued against leaders Arsenal last weekend.

Leandro Trossard's deflected effort made the difference in a 1-0 Gunners victory, but VAR controversy inevitably reared its ugly head in the dying embers, as Callum Wilson's bedlam-inducing leveller was chalked off for a foul on David Raya by Pablo.

The Arsenal goalkeeper was having his shirt pulled by Jean-Clair Todibo to boot, and while the consensus among players, pundits and referees was that Raya was indeed fouled, the issue of consistency and the 'clear and obvious' technological threshold was highlighted in lengthy post-match debates.

Not only might that VAR call have a seismic impact on the title race, but also the survival scrap, as the 18th-placed Hammers now sit two points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur and must win on Sunday to guarantee a shot at finishing 17th on the final day.

The omens are worrying for the Irons, though, as they have failed to score in their last three Premier League away games and could go four without netting for the first time since May 2015 - eerily, the fourth match in that sequence was at Newcastle in their last road trip of the season.

On the flip side, the Hammers triumphed 2-0 at St James' Park in this fixture last season and also took down the Magpies 3-1 on home soil in November, putting them within 90 minutes of just a third-ever Premier League double over their hosts.

Newcastle United Premier League form:

West Ham United Premier League form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Team News

The continued omission of Anthony Gordon from the first XI made Newcastle headlines last weekend, and Howe's "looking at the future" comments suggest that the winger - who has reportedly agreed a deal in principle with Bayern Munich - will watch on from the bench again.

However, Barnes is certainly in contention to replace Jacob Murphy after netting the opener as a substitute against Forest, his 16th goal of the season in all competitions and 21st direct involvement of 2025-26.

Lewis Miley (calf), Emil Krafth (knee), Tino Livramento (groin) and Fabian Schar (ankle) remain on the sidelines, but Howe has no fresh injury concerns from gameweek 36.

Likewise, West Ham should enter the penultimate matchday with a near-identical group of players, although winger Adama Traore is a doubt after sitting out the Arsenal defeat due to a quadriceps injury.

Santo's switch to a 3-4-2-1 system almost paid dividends against the league leaders, so a similar setup here cannot be ruled out, and the Irons manager's only real selection dilemma comes up top.

Wilson's celebrations were for nought last weekend, but the ex-Newcastle man has already produced the goods against one former club this season, netting twice against Bournemouth in November.

Only two players have ever netted twice against two former clubs in one Premier League season - Chris Wood vs. Newcastle and Burnley and Nicolas Anelka vs. Arsenal and Manchester City - but Wilson will likely still lose out to Taty Castellanos here.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Pope; Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Tonali, Guimaraes; Barnes, Ramsey, Joelinton; Osula

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Todibo, Disasi, Mavropanos; Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Fernandes, Diouf; Bowen, Summerville; Castellanos

We say: Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham United

Both teams have scored in each of Newcastle's last nine matches held at St James' Park, where the home faithful now just want the final whistle to blow on this forgettable season.

An increasingly desperate Irons side can therefore end their scoreless sequence on Sunday, but victory may still be beyond the shot-shy visitors, who would then have to pray for a favour from Chelsea on Tuesday night.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.