Yet to weave his magic as West Ham United manager, Nuno Espirito Santo once again goes in search of his first win as Irons boss when Newcastle United visit the London Stadium for Sunday's Premier League fixture.
The capital club in crisis risk suffering four successive defeats in the top flight, whereas the effervescent visitors are on the hunt for their fourth straight win across all tournaments.
Match preview
Guaranteed to remain in the Premier League relegation zone no matter what transpires in gameweek 10, West Ham are currently in possession of a one-way ticket down to the Championship, as Graham Potter and Santo have combined for a measly four points thus far.
The most recent of those was won in Santo's inaugural fixture - a 1-1 stalemate away to Everton - since when the former Conference League winners have been bested by Arsenal, Brentford and most recently newly-promoted Leeds United.
The die was cast just 15 minutes into their Elland Road encounter last Friday, as Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon struck early before a Mateus Fernandes consolation, leaving West Ham 19th in the rankings and four points adrift of safety.
Never before have the Hammers collected as few as four points from their opening nine games of a Premier League season - their previous worst was five in 2006-07 - and the Irons now risk writing an unwanted chapter of club history.
Indeed, defeat on Sunday would mark the first time ever that the hosts have lost eight of their opening 10 games of a league season, and considering their appalling defensive record - a league-high 20 goals conceded - such a scenario is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe on August 3, 2025
While West Ham have already shipped 20 goals in the 2025-26 Premier League, Newcastle's fixtures have not even seen 20 goals; the Magpies are one of just two teams - along with Aston Villa - to still be in single figures for strikes scored and conceded in the English top flight.
Nine goals at the correct end and eight at the wrong end is a testament both to the visitors' staunch rearguard action and sometimes uninspiring attacking play, but there has been nothing uninspiring about the recent domestic and continental feats of Eddie Howe's side.
Indeed, the Magpies head south revelling in a run of five wins from their last six games in all tournaments, including victories in each of their last three against Benfica in the Champions League, Fulham in the top flight andmost recently Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup.
However, all three of those successes came in front of their own supporters, and the Magpies are yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season - only the bottom three in West Ham, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest share that fate.
Including last season, Newcastle's torrid winless run on the road in the Premier League stands at seven matches, but the reigning EFL Cup champions have gone unbeaten in their last six visits to West Ham's London Stadium since a 2-0 reverse in 2019.
West Ham United Premier League form:
L
L
D
L
L
L
Newcastle United Premier League form:
W
D
L
W
L
W
Newcastle United form (all competitions):
W
W
L
W
W
W
Team News
Newcastle United's Sven Botman on September 20, 2025
Injury was added to insult for West Ham during their defeat to Leeds last time out, as young defender Oliver Scarles suffered a serious shoulder concern in the first half and will be out until December as he recuperates from surgery.
Scarles is one of four stricken Irons players at the minute alongside Dinos Mavropanos (unspecified), George Earthy (hamstring) and Niclas Fullkrug (thigh), and Santo interestingly sent on ex-Newcastle striker Callum Wilson to replace the wing-back at Elland Road.
The veteran forward could now face one of his former clubs for the very first time in the Premier League, and if Fullkrug is unable to recover from his thigh issue in time, Wilson will be a genuine candidate to start up front.
As for Wilson's current club Newcastle, Sven Botman was forcibly withdrawn in their last Premier League clash with Fulham, but the Dutchman was on the bench against Spurs in midweek so should be fine to line up here.
However, that is more than can be said for Tino Livramento (knee), Lewis Hall (thigh), Yoane Wissa (knee) and Harrison Ashby (thigh), but Howe sustained no fresh concerns in the beating of Tottenham.
The Magpies boss had the luxury of resting a number of key stars in the cup fixture, and the likes of Jacob Murphy, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Joelinton and Nick Pope are all primed to come back into the XI here.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf; Magassa, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville; Wilson
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon
SM words green background
We say: West Ham United 0-3 Newcastle United
West Ham fans may have reacted with shock when they saw Santo's lineup at Elland Road, and their fears were proven right, so the Portuguese would do well to return to a more familiar setup against an in-form Newcastle outfit.
However, the Irons still look largely devoid of ideas in attack and at the back, so Howe's refreshed big-hitters should have no problems marching to their belated first Premier League away win of the season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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