Opposition…
The summer saga over Alexander Isak’s protracted transfer to Liverpool distracted from the fact Newcastle United did plenty of business of their own during the window.
The Magpies spent well over £200 million bolstering their squad with the signings of Germany centre-forward Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart, DR Congo forward Yoane Wissa from Brentford, Sweden winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, England U21 midfielder Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa and Germany centre-back Malick Thiaw from AC Milan.
While Newcastle’s net spend was ultimately reduced by the £125 million sale of Isak to the Reds and the offloading of Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff and Martin Dúbravka to Juventus, Leeds United and Burnley respectively, the outlay would have been expected to yield successful results.
Newcastle have won three, drawn three and lost three of their nine Premier League matches and are yet to win away from St James' Park. A hard-fought home UEFA Champions League defeat by Barcelona could be considered creditable, and was followed by a 4-0 thumping of Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, while Bradford City and Tottenham Hotspur were swept aside in the EFL Cup third and fourth rounds.
However, after finishing fifth and winning the EFL Cup last season, the Toon Army would expect their team to build on those achievements and mount a sustained challenge for a top-four finish this term. That may still emerge but, following the departure of talisman Isak, Newcastle have found goals hard to score in the Premier League, with just nine hitting the net in those opening nine Premier League matches.
Woltemade has scored four of them, but the 23-year-old will need support from his teammates if Eddie Howe’s men are to close the gap on the leaders before it is too late.
Of course, it should be remembered that Newcastle’s return to a position as one of England’s top sides is a recent one, and has only occurred since the club was taken over by the Saudi-based Public Investment Fund in 2021.
The Magpies were in the EFL Championship as recently as 2016/17 and then finished no higher than tenth in the five seasons after winning promotion.
Callum Wilson’s 18 goals helped them to fourth and the EFL Cup final in 2022/23, before Isak took centre-stage and plundered 52 goals across two seasons to help his side to seventh in 2023/24 and fifth last season.
The EFL Cup final triumph over Liverpool in March this year ended Newcastle’s 56-year wait for a major trophy, so Newcastle supporters have plenty of positive memories to draw upon.
Modern-day football and society demand success and gratification, though, and the Toon Army will expect their club to continue challenging for trophies and European qualification.
Previous Meetings…
West Ham and Newcastle have met an incredible 145 times; a run of games that started back in February 1908 when Bill Appleyard's double gave the Magpies a 2-0 victory over the Irons in the FA Cup second round.
Since then, most contests between the two sides have been played out in the top division of English football. Indeed, 54 of the 145 matches played between the two teams have taken place in the Premier League.
Honours were split last season, with West Ham winning 2-0 at St James’ Park in November before the Magpies triumphed 1-0 at London Stadium in March.
Our biggest ever home victory over Newcastle was on 24 March 1979, when John McDowell's two goals highlighted a 5-0 Second Division success at the Boleyn Ground.
Premier League-wise, we've scored three 3-0 wins over Newcastle, including one on home turf on 23 September 2001, when Paolo Di Canio was among the scorers.
Match Officials…
Referee: Rob Jones
Assistant Referees: Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes
VAR: Paul Howard
Assistant VAR: Lee Betts
Rob Jones will referee Sunday’s game, assisted by Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh.
Promoted to the EFL list at the start of the 2016/17 season, Jones took charge of his first top-flight fixture in December 2019, and was promoted to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Select Group One ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
Jones takes the whistle for a game involving West Ham for the tenth time, having refereed our 2025/26 Premier League opener away to Sunderland in August. He also took charge of our 2-0 win away at Crystal Palace in August 2024, before a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in December.
The 38-year-old Merseysider has been the man in the middle at three finals during his career so far, the most recent of which was Wycombe Wanderers’ victory over Oxford United in the EFL League One Play-Off final in July 2020. He previously refereed Rotherham United's win over Shrewsbury Town in the 2018 League One Play-Off final, and Grimsby Town's triumph over Forest Green Rovers in the 2016 National League Play-Off final.
Peter Bankes will be the fourth official, while Video Assistant Referee responsibilities will be overseen by Paul Howard, assisted by Lee Betts.