William Osula struck twice to condemn West Ham to a 3-1 defeat that puts them on the brink of relegation. Check out the best facts, stats and data from this Premier League clash with our Newcastle vs West Ham stats page.
West Ham United’s Premier League status is hanging by a thread after a resounding 3-1 defeat away to Newcastle United.
Defeat in their penultimate game of the season leaves West Ham two points from safety. But with their goal difference (-22) significantly worse than Tottenham’s (-9), Spurs now need only a point from their final two matches to condemn the Hammers to relegation.
West Ham’s survival hopes are almost gone – something the Opta supercomputer acknowledges, giving them just a 6.2% chance of staying up.
Nuno Espírito Santo initially set his side up in a back five, with Callum Wilson operating as the lone striker, but the approach backfired badly. Newcastle repeatedly sliced through West Ham’s shape and dominated possession in the opening exchanges, with the away side struggling to gain any foothold in the game.
The opening goal came from a poor giveaway by Mads Hermansen as West Ham were trying to build from the back. Harvey Barnes pounced on the loose ball, surged down the right and clipped a low cross into the middle, where Nick Woltemade applied the finish. It ended a 17-game Premier League goal drought for the German forward.
No player has been involved in more goals for Newcastle in all competitions this season than Barnes (22 – 16 goals, six assists), level with Anthony Gordon.
Newcastle’s second was even more impressive. A vertical, one-touch move cut straight through West Ham before William Osula drilled a finish underneath Hermansen to make it 2-0.
Osula has had to make do with sporadic opportunities during his Newcastle career, but he has certainly made the most of them. The forward has now scored six goals across his last eight Premier League appearances – three times as many as he managed in his first 51 combined (2) – and averages 0.92 goals per 90, the most of any Newcastle player in Premier League history.
Nuno recognised his tactical mistake, brining on Valentín Castellanos for defender Jean-Clair Todibo, with Castellanos partnering Wilson up front. It was the Argentine who produced West Ham’s first shot on target, forcing Nick Pope into a sharp save with a side-footed volley.
But despite enjoying more possession after the change, West Ham struggled to create meaningful chances.
Osula’s second goal, just after the hour mark, effectively ended the contest. Another sloppy turnover in West Ham’s own half allowed Joe Willock to break free down the right, and his cutback across goal left Osula with a simple finish.
Castellanos did pull one back for West Ham with a stunning long-range strike, briefly giving the visitors hope. But the comeback never really got going.
West Ham’s fate had effectively been sealed in the opening 20 minutes, and they’ll now need massive favours from Chelsea and Everton – Spurs’ next two opponents – while beating Leeds themselves on the final day to save themselves from the trapdoor.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Newcastle vs West Ham stats from their Premier League meeting at St James’ Park on Sunday.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Newcastle vs West Ham Post-Match Facts:
- Newcastle United are unbeaten in their last 20 home Premier League games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone (W13 D7), since a 1-0 loss to West Brom back in April 2018, winning each of the last six in a row.
- West Ham have lost three consecutive Premier League games for a third time this season (also in October and December). Before this current run of three successive defeats, the Hammers had lost just three of their previous 13 league matches (W6 D4).
- Through Mads Hermansen today and Alphonse Areola against Bournemouth in November, West Ham United in 2025-26 are just the third side in Premier League history to have two different keepers provide an assist in a single season after Derby County in 1996-97 (Mart Poom & Russell Hoult) and Newcastle United in 2012-13 (Tim Krul & Robert Elliot).
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