Newcastle vs West Ham LIVE: Team news and updates as Irons fight for vital points in Premier League relegation battle

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has put his defenders on red alert as old friend Callum Wilson returns to Tyneside intent on firing West Ham to Premier League safety.

The 34-year-old Hammers frontman spent five years with the Magpies, playing in the Champions League and collecting a Carabao Cup winner’s medal before leaving for West Ham last summer in the search for regular football.

“If you were to build the profile of a striker and you wanted the mentality of that player to be as good as it could be, he would fit that profile. He’s got an unbelievably positive attitude to scoring goals,” Howe said.

“He’s had some really difficult moments in his career that he’s had the resilience to fight back [from], and he’s still fighting and he’s still playing and he’s still scoring.

“He will back himself to score in any moment, any time on the pitch. Even if he’s given 10 minutes at the end he’ll back himself to score, so we need to be really alert to his qualities.“I know the lads know him very well so they will respect him immensely, our players, so whenever he’s on the pitch we’re going to have to defend really well.”

Callum Wilson starts against his former club as West Ham seek survival.

West Ham XI: Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Mavropanos, Diouf; Soucek, Fernandes; Bowen, Wilson, Summerville.

Anthony Gordon is again on the bench for Newcastle.

Newcastle XI: Pope; Trippier, Botman, Thiaw, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes; Barnes, Woltemade, Ramsey; Osula.

We’re expecting team news in the next 10 minutes or so, and Anthony Gordon’s role will be interesting – a move to Bayern Munich seems to be on the cards, with Eddie Howe suggesting on Friday that the forward may have played his final game for Newcastle.

Newcastle’s Saudi owners were over here a couple of weeks ago to check in with senior figures at the club, and perhaps have a little mull over Eddie Howe’s future. I recently heard the club’s chief executive, David Hopkinson, speak at a conference, and he didn’t strike as a reactive type, talking about the work Newcastle need to do off the field to ensure they can deliver off it. Still, there is a view in some quarters that Howe has taken the club as far as he can – could a change yet come?

We’ve naturally focused a lot of our attention on West Ham so far, but Newcastle play their final home game of the season today looking to push for as high a finish as possible. It has been a disappointing campaign for Eddie Howe and his side – they go to Fulham on the final day.

West Ham, certainly, weren’t best pleased about the circumstances in which they lost a potentially crucial point.

Football’s lawmakers are set to have a look at the now commonplace grappling in the box that has become a blight on the game (according to some) this season:

It could have been different for West Ham last time out, of course, a point snatched at the last taken away by a VAR review – much to Jarrod Bowen’s frustration:

Nuno Espirito Santo insists West Ham will not change their approach for the must-win match at Newcastle.

The Hammers need a victory at St James’ Park to ensure the Premier League relegation battle goes to the final day of the season.

The situation is critical, with West Ham currently 18th, two points behind Tottenham with two games remaining.But Hammers boss Nuno insisted: “We’ve been saying that since the beginning. Every game is a must-win game so nothing has changed.

“The importance of the points are the same. The situation is decisive, yes. But I hope they stay focused, doing their tasks, try to ignore what’s coming around, try to ignore the ifs and the anxiety of different scenarios

.“Focus on what you have and that is action after action. I believe that this is the best approach for the players and for our team.

“I think we’ve been through such experiences and this is valuable for us. Realising what happened in the past, how we deal with situations, what you can avoid. I will try to help our players as best as I can.”