Newcastle United v West Ham United: Key stats and talking points

TL;DR

Newcastle United faces West Ham United in a crucial match where West Ham needs a win to escape the relegation zone. Newcastle has dropped 27 points from winning positions this season and has the highest number of late goals conceded in the Premier League.

Key points

West Ham needs a win to escape relegation zone
Newcastle dropped 27 points from winning positions
Newcastle conceded 20 goals from the 75th minute onwards
This is Newcastle's final home game of the season
Anthony Gordon's future at Newcastle is uncertain

Mentioned in this story

Bayern Munich

Newcastle UnitedWest Ham United

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Sunday's match (17:30 GMT), with West Ham needing a win to move out of the relegation zone.

Newcastle's draw at Nottingham Forest last weekend followed a frustratingly familiar script. Harvey Barnes' 74th-minute strike put them ahead at the City Ground but former Magpie Elliot Anderson equalised with just two minutes remaining.

Eddie Howe's team have now dropped 27 points from winning positions this term, at least seven more than any other Premier League side, while their total of 20 goals conceded from the 75th minute onwards is also the highest figure in the top flight.

Magpies' mediocre home form

This is Newcastle's final home game of the season and it appears increasingly doubtful the Toon Army will see reported Bayern Munich target Anthony Gordon in a black and white shirt again. Howe admitted on Friday that the winger is not being picked "with a partial view to the future".

The head coach also stressed it is important Newcastle "finish the season with a positive feeling". Strong home form has been the foundation of the Magpies' improvement under Howe but there has been a noticeable drop-off in the current campaign.

They are averaging 1.61 points per game at St James' Park, comfortably lower than in any of his previous full seasons in charge, losing seven times. The last time they lost as many as eight league matches at St James' Park was in 2020-21, under Steve Bruce.