West Ham United v Newcastle United
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 2 November 2025, 2pm GMT
West Ham United Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo has made three changes to his starting XI for Sunday’s Premier League fixture with Newcastle United.
Full Premier League debutant Freddie Potts, Mateus Fernandes and Callum Wilson all return to the team at London Stadium, with the injured Ollie Scarles, Tomáš Souček and Andy Irving the trio who drop out.
There is also a place in the matchday squad for 18-year-old left-sided defender Ezra Mayers, who won the Dylan Tombides Award in 2023/24 and has been a regular in the Hammers' U21 development squad since April 2024.
It appears Nuno is switching to a back four, having started with a 3-4-3 formation at Leeds United last time out.
Alphonse Areola starts in goal behind a defence of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Maximilian Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and El Hadji Malick Diouf.
Wan-Bissaka has tasted victory eight times in 12 career appearances against Newcastle, and has also scored two of his three career goals against the Magpies. The full-back scored in West Ham’s 2-0 Premier League win at St James’ Park last season.
The midfield will be anchored by Academy of Football graduate Potts, who starts in the Premier League for the first time after making four substitute appearances. The 22-year-old has plenty of senior experience, though, having made 81 appearances while on loan at Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth in the previous two seasons.
He will be playing alongside 21-year-old Fernandes in a youthful midfield, with Lucas Paquetá reverting to a No10 role, having played up front at Leeds last time out.
Captain Jarrod Bowen has one goal and five assists in eleven career appearances for West Ham against Newcastle. Bowen will play wide on the right, with Crysencio Summerville starting wide on the left.
Former Newcastle striker Wilson starts up front and makes his first ever Premier League appearance against one of his former clubs. Wilson has played 75 games since 2022/23 for Newcastle and West Ham but never faced Bournemouth. The only player to have played for three or more clubs and made more appearances than Wilson (245) without facing a former side in Premier League history is former Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea goalkeeper Neil Sullivan (247).
Czech midfielder Souček, who has four goals in eleven games for West Ham against Newcastle, is named among the nine substitutes, alongside Mayers, who featured once before in a Premier League matchday squad against Arsenal in November 2024.
Scarles, Dinos Mavropanos and Niclas Füllkrug are all absent through injury.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Todibo, Diouf, Potts, Fernandes, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Summerville, Wilson
Subs: Hermansen (GK), Walker-Peters, Igor, Mayers, Rodríguez, Magassa, Irving, Luis Guilherme, Souček
Newcastle United: Pope, Krafth, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Guimarães ©, Tonali, Joelinton, Murphy, Gordon, Woltemade
Subs: Ramsdale (GK), Hall, Schär, Willock, Miley, Ramsey, Barnes, Elanga, Osula
Referee: Rob Jones
