West Ham United are on the precipice of relegation after Sunday’s deflating 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

Here are our Scout Notes from the game.

• READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 37: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus + DefCon
• READ MORE: FPL notes: Brilliant Bruno, Casemiro farewell + Anderson impresses
• READ MORE: FPL notes: Palace + Stach injuries, Glasner on his Gameweek 38 line-up

ALL EYES ON TUESDAY

In effect, only one of West Ham United or Newcastle United will have something to play for in Gameweek 38.

It all hinges on the result of Tuesday’s match at Stamford Bridge.

A win for Tottenham Hotspur definitely sends West Ham down, while a point for the Lilywhites effectively does the job, too. There’s a goal difference chasm of 13 between Spurs and the Hammers, which will be nigh-on impossible to overturn on the final day.

A Chelsea win keeps alive West Ham’s faint hopes of survival, of course. However, a victory for the Blues would also end Newcastle’s equally slim chances of finishing in eighth, which would be enough for UEFA Conference League qualification.

All eyes on Tuesday, then, to see if Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m), Bruno Guimaraes (£6.9m) et al are going to have a final-day incentive.

£5.5M FORWARD OSULA IN FORM

Will Osula (£5.5m) continued his superb form by bagging a brace, taking him to six goals in as many starts.

He’s still very raw, so it remains to be seen whether he’s Newcastle’s long-term answer to their problem centre-forward position. But he certainly is not lacking in confidence or trickery, nor his manager’s faith for the time being.

“I felt he did well enough in those early games to warrant leaving in, and he’s really repaid that faith. I think he’s been excellent in recent games. His confidence seems to be growing, his all-round game is improving.

“He’s a player of huge potential. I think he’s got a great pace and power about him. He’s a really, really good finisher off both feet, which is very rare. He’s 6’3″, 6’4”, which is also a really big bonus for us because of set plays and his hold-up play. He’s got a presence up front. So, I think he’s got great tools.

“He still needs a lot of development. He still needs to stay very humble and level because I think there’s a lot more to come from him, but he’s certainly done very well and I’m really pleased for him.” – Eddie Howe on Will Osula

His stats have certainly been competitive since his promotion to the starting XI in Gameweek 32:

Above: Forwards sorted by expected goal involvement (xGI) in the last six Gameweeks

THE BRUNO BOUNCE

Newcastle played some lovely stuff at times on Saturday, with a nice one-touch move leading to Osula’s first goal.

Jacob Ramsey (£5.3m) has looked excellent in the last two games, assisting on both occasions, and was right up there with Osula in the ‘Man of the Match’ stakes. He started on the left, here, with the exit-bound Anthony Gordon (£7.3m) again unused.

There’s a chance an injury to Sandro Tonali (£5.3m) pushes Ramsey deeper next weekend, however.

Harvey Barnes (£6.1m) assisted Nick Woltemade (£6.7m) for his much-needed goal to get the scoring underway. It was better from Woltemade but, like Osula, he still looks like an unfinished product – he just cost £59m more than the young Dane.

It wasn’t all perfect from the Magpies; the defence still looks wobbly in the extreme.

But it’s no surprise that they’ve improved from Gameweek 34 onwards. There are two things that Newcastle have benefited from in recent years: a full week’s training/rest between games and the presence of the talismanic Bruno Guimaraes. The Magpies’ elimination from every cup competition and the Brazilian’s return to fitness have provided the catalyst for an upturn in performances and results.

There was no attacking return for Bruno on Saturday but he did go close to scoring with a shot on target from close range and at least walked away with DefCon points.

Above: Players banking DefCon points in Newcastle v West Ham

TONALI INJURY

Eddie Howe revealed after full-time that Joelinton‘s (£5.9m) season is over.

Tonali, who came off with a hamstring issue, might also have played his last game of 2025/26.

“Joelinton just pulled up with a very minor feeling in training during the week, right at the end. And yeah, we were aware that he wasn’t going to make this game or the next game. So that’ll be a season over, but it’d be fully ready to go for pre-season. We need to make sure we look after him and get him right.

“Sandro just felt his hamstring. I don’t know the severity of that. I don’t think it’s serious, but it was enough for him to come off.

“So, it looks like we’ll miss them in the last game.” – Eddie Howe

TATY, BYE?

West Ham only started playing when they went 2-0 down, and the real onslaught only came from the visitors after Osula had made it 3-0.

“Bad performance. A bad day for us, and it’s going to be a tough week ahead of us. After today, it is going to be a very tough week.” – Nuno Espirito Santo

Nuno Espirito Santo went with a back five and Callum Wilson (£5.8m) up front, but swiftly brought on Taty Castellanos (£5.5m) when 2-0 down and sacrificed surplus centre-half Jean-Clair Todibo (£4.3m).

Taty played like a man possessed when he came on, racking up a ridiculous eight shots and scoring one of the goals of the season. It’s not often you see opposition supporters applauding a goal (think Leeds fans and Jeremy Goss), but this one drew appreciation from around St James’ Park.

Above: Players sorted by goal attempts in Newcastle v West Ham

Should West Ham still be in with a shout of survival in Gameweek 38, Taty is a name to possibly consider. Crysencio Summerville (£5.4m) was very lively, too, but this was the latest in a lengthening line of sub-par displays from Bowen, who shot tamely with his only effort of the match.