West Ham United

This is a must-win for West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo and, let's face it, they might sack him anyway even if he gets past QPR.

I don't think home advantage helps the Hammers, who suffered a catastrophic defeat by Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium on Tuesday. I'm not sure how many of their fans will turn up for this game, and the ones who do are not going to be in a good mood either.

But while West Ham have been very poor recently, they still have some good players and they should surely still see off a mid-table Championship team on their own patch.

QPR have been knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup more times - 52 - than any other side since the current format of the competition started 100 years ago.

I am going for them to suffer defeat number 53, and for Nuno to survive a little bit longer.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Boreham Wood have signed full-back Junior Robinson on loan from West Ham United for the rest of the season and agreed a permanent deal for Barnet defender Ollie Kensdale.

Robinson, 21, has played six times for the Premier League club's under-21 side in the EFL Trophy and has also had previous loan spells at Sutton United and Scottish club Livingston.

He made his Scottish Premiership debut against Rangers at Ibrox in November.

Kensdale, who was previously with Southend United, made 10 appearances for Barnet this season after joining them from Eastbourne Borough.

Boreham Wood are in FA Cup third-round action on Saturday at home to Burton Albion from League One (15:00 GMT).

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Sunday's FA Cup game against QPR at the London Stadium (kick-off 14:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Besides Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who completed "a light session" on Friday, the only other injury news is "knocks, normal situations" that West Ham have to assess.

• On the disappointment of Forest defeat: "We can speak about the reasons for our loss but they're things that we can't control and unfortunately, it's not because of referees that we are in this situation. Things are going against us in many moments."

• Nuno advises not to "obsess about the gap" that exists between the Hammers and Premier League safety: "There are 17 games to go - a lot of football to be played. I believe it is possible."

• On what he is looking for in new recruits this month: "The main objective, beside the quality and talent of the players, is for them to be motivated and committed to join us."

• On West Ham's transfer strategy: "It's not thinking about the future, it's not thinking about anything else - it's just who can join us and help us."

• On the transfer status of Callum Wilson, James Ward-Prowse and Mads Hermansen: "We have honest conversations with all the players when it's the right moment."

• On Crysencio Summerville, whose first 'goal' of the season was ruled out against Forest: "He's still looking for that goal. It's not only about the goal - it's about how he plays. He's a talented player that needs to exploit his actions better."

• On the importance of this season's FA Cup: "The FA Cup is a good chance to win a football match, which we need. Everything is different when you win. You recover faster, you're more happy."

Listen to live commentary of Sunday's game from 14:30 GMT on BBC Radio London and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Find out how to follow all of the FA Cup action this weekend here

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

We have only just gone past the halfway stage of the Premier League season, so how much can really be read into predictions?

For supporters of Wolves, Burnley and West Ham, they will be hoping not very much.

Leeds and Nottingham Forest, however? They would breathe a bit more easily.

Throughout the season, Opta's "supercomputer" is continually predicting how the final table might look and what percentage chance clubs have of winning the title, finishing top four, in Europe and also relegation.

But for those teams currently occupying the relegation spots in the Premier League, they may want to avert their gaze.

Having only just picked up their first win last weekend, most Wolves fans will have been settled on the fact they would be returning to the Championship come the end of the season.

And Opta's predictions would suggest the same.

Of course, 14 points off 17th place with 17 games to go, it is still very much mathematically possible to save themselves - and with five points in three games there has been an uptick in form - but with a predicted chance of survival of just 0.73%, it would take something incredibly special.

Burnley's return to the top flight has not been the easiest.

While the Clarets have been picking up points, it has not been at the rate needed to get themselves out of the danger zone.

Another point was accrued against Manchester United on Wednesday night, taking them one point behind West Ham in 18th but, with Nottingham Forest's win over the Hammers on Tuesday, it still leaves Burnley eight points off safety.

Like Wolves, Opta's statistics and simulations suggest Scott Parker's side will be back in the second tier next term, with just a 6.59% survival chance unless they can start turning more draws into wins and eking out points from the narrow defeats.

As for West Ham, the defeat by Forest could prove to be one of the most damaging for their season.

A classic six-pointer, a win could have seen them close the gap to just one point. Instead, it sits at seven and sees them with a now 88.76% chance of relegation.

The change of manager from Graham Potter to Nuno Espirito Santo is yet to have the desired effect and both the head coach and the ownership are coming under pressure from the fanbase.

It was pressure that Daniel Farke was feeling at Leeds before their turnaround in results that has left them with just a 7.49% chance of relegation, while Sean Dyche may once again be steering a team to Premier League safety with a less than 10% chance of dropping out of the top flight.

But this is the Premier League, and teams have upset the odds before.

Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist

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August 2026 will mark 10 years since West Ham United's first game at London Stadium after departing Upton Park. If their current form continues, it is an anniversary that will be 'celebrated' in the Championship.

The Hammers are now winless in 10 Premier League games, seven points adrift of safety in 18th, with Nuno Espirito Santo's side registering just 11 points from a possible 48 since the Portuguese took over in September 2025.

Fan unrest has centred on that unpopular stadium move, with the club's ownership, spearheaded by David Sullivan, also under fire for "poor recruitment" and "overall mismanagement".

Since the 2023 summer transfer window, where the Hammers netted £100m from Arsenal for England midfielder Declan Rice in the aftermath of their Conference League triumph, the east London club have spent £417.3m on signings, while netting £262.4m in sales.

That net spend of £154.9m proves the ownership have not necessarily been shy in backing Moyes and his successors (Julen Lopetegui, Graham Potter, and now Nuno), but the return on that outlay has not always been good.

One success story was Mohammed Kudus. The Ghana forward, signed from Ajax for £38m, scored 19 goals in 80 games before departing for Tottenham Hotspur, who forked out £55m last summer.

Others have fared less well; Niclas Fullkrug (£27m) found the net just three times in 29 appearances before being loaned out to AC Milan, while the jury is still out on Mateus Fernandes, who cost £38m from Southampton last summer.

Striker Evan Ferguson's short loan spell from Brighton last season yielded precisely zero goals.

Defensive worries abound for Nuno, who is without a clean sheet in his 16 games in charge. Spending £40m on Max Kilman on a seven-year deal under Lopetegui raised eyebrows at the time, and his numbers are not kind.

West Ham have conceded 106 goals in the 60 games the ex-Wolves man has played. Alongside him, it has been a tricky season for £34m Frenchman Jean-Clair Todibo.

The past two Januarys have been quiet for the Irons, with players only arriving on loan .

There seems to have been a gear change this month, with two permanent deals already completed for strikers Pablo Felipe from Gil Vicente for £21.8m and Taty Castellanos from Lazio for a reported £26m.

Hammers fans will be hoping the pair can fire them up the table.

Pundits Danny Murphy and Stephen Warnock are on hand to bring you the action and talking points from the nine Premier League fixtures so far this week.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

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We asked for your views on Nuno Espirito Santo's future at West Ham and whether there is a chance he can still progress the team or if his time is all but over.

Here are some of your comments:

Al: He hasn't improved West Ham. They remain frail in defence and disjointed elsewhere. Sadly, West Ham's best recent manager was David Moyes who the fans never took to despite him winning a European trophy. I wonder how they feel now? The two strikers brought in seem like panic buys but have to be better than an ageing Callum Wilson and an incompetent Niklas Fulkrug. But the writing is on the wall now surely?

Bubba: This is not a difficult issue to identify and resolve. The problem is not our manager. Nuno is more than capable of keeping a team up in the Premier League and he has proved as much in the past. The problem is the board and how the club is run. We are the seventh-ranked Premier League team, in terms of revenues. This means that, if run properly, the Hammers should average out at seventh in the standings every year (a lucky year, Champions League places; an unlucky year, mid-table). The fact that we are constantly underperforming has nothing to do with an individual manager or player. It reflects a systemic mismanagement of the club as a whole.

Mike: He needs to go. No-one can understand his tactics. Too many mistakes to mention just one. His selections do not make much sense. He doesn't seem to have much passion for the job. Get Slaven Bilic or Michael Carrick in now.

David: Another sacked manager appointed. We only want a manager with no buyout clause. If you appoint failed managers and always try and get bargain players from relegated clubs, then what do you expect? Sack Nuno now to give us a fighting chance of staying up and then put the club up for sale.

Andy: Yet another out-of-work manager who has shown that they cannot work in this circus of a club. From a footballing side, it does not take a genius to work out that West Ham are shocking at defending set pieces - the communication between goalkeeper and defenders is an obvious problem that he's failed to solve.

Roger: Nuno should never have been appointed, no clues to team or style. Board have no clue as to what a manager should be so ultimately to blame.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham forward Callum Marshall has completed a loan move to German second-tier side VFL Bochum.

The 21-year-old will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign with the team managed by former Manchester City forward Uwe Rosler.

A winner of both the U18 Premier League South and FA Youth Cup, Marshall made his debut for the Hammers as a substitute at Arsenal in October, and also featured off the bench against Brentford at London Stadium later the same month.

The Northern Ireland international spent last season on loan with League One side Huddersfield Town, scoring 10 goals and winning the player of the year award.

Marshall will now join 10th-placed Bochum with the aim of helping them push for promotion in the second half of the season.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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How can a player be offside when the ball has been played to them by an opposition player?

You can understand why fans might be confused, especially so for West Ham's 'goal' on Tuesday night, disallowed by the VAR for offside, in their 2-1 home loss to Nottingham Forest.

Hammers winger Crysencio Summerville touched the ball forward, Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic made a block tackle and that sent the ball to West Ham's Taty Castellanos. Ten seconds later, West Ham thought Summerville had scored.

An offside phase is locked in by the final touch of a team-mate, even if that is not a pass. When Summerville played the ball, Castellanos was offside.

It then comes down to what is called a 'deliberate play' by a defender, as this resets offside and would allow the goal to count.

But the lawmakers do not consider a 'deliberate play' as an intention to touch the ball. There must be the realistic expectation of a controlled outcome.

Milenkovic making a block or a tackle does not count because he did not know where the ball might end up.

A 'deliberate play' that goes to an opponent is usually a misplaced pass or a skewed clearance.

The logic is an attacker should not be allowed to gain an advantage from being in an offside position when a defender is simply doing their job – and not making a mistake.

The most high profile disallowed goal came in the 2022 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Madrid forward Federico Valverde touched the ball and both Ibrahima Konate and Fabinho made block tackles. The ball squirmed to Karim Benzema who scored, but he was offside from Valverde's touch.

Such offside decisions are always controversial for the team that suffers, but this is how the lawmakers intend it to be applied.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The stats make grim reading.

With four draws and six losses, it is the first time West Ham have gone 10 Premier League games without a win since a run of 11 between December 2006 and March 2007.

Only Bournemouth with 16 have dropped more top-flight points from winning positions than the Hammers' 15, while West Ham have also failed to win any of their past five matches when scoring first.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who guided Nottingham Forest to Europe last season before being dismissed three games into 2025-26, has now picked up 11 points from 16 matches since he replaced the sacked Graham Potter in September.

That is the worst start from any West Ham boss in the Premier League era, with the back-to-back wins over Newcastle and Burnley in November - Nuno's only two successes - quickly fading from memory.

Former West Ham and England goalkeeper Rob Green told Sky Sports change is needed at London Stadium.

"Ten games without a win you're wondering, where is the answer now? Where do West Ham go now? Where does Nuno go from here? You can't see things continuing much longer with results like this," he said.

"They need at least 30 points to have any chance of staying up and they're not going to get close at this rate.

"I don't see Nuno staying. I just can't see it how you can go this long without winning a game. This wasn't the worst performance by a long shot and they still didn't get a result.

"It's heartbreaking but I don't see another answer. It's looking more and more an impossible task."

Read the full article here

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham "were robbed" by "a joke penalty" against Nottingham Forest or this side under Nuno Espirito Santo is doomed?

We have had both sets of reaction this morning so choose how you feel about the under-fire boss in our poll over here.

And explain your thinking using this form.

We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Premier League game between West Ham and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Mick: They tried . It's all you can say. They simply aren't good enough for this league. Not the worst West Ham team ever, but close. The mistakes in possession ran to over 40. The defending utterly chaotic. I'll excuse Jarrod Bowen as he is the only player that could play for a top five club. The rest are League One or lower. Another 14 games of this? Roll on relegation.

Rob: A reasonable performance. We've played worse and won, although not this season. Nuno hasn't lost the dressing room. It's sad to see Bowen s body language - after all he's done for the club.

Matt: Much better performance from the lads. We are looking more like a team and have far more presence in midfield. We were unlucky with quite a few (albeit probably correct) decisions, but definitely a small step in the right direction. New signings looked lively.

Robert: Not enough pressing. Too many long balls. The referee penalised good tackles giving Forest the advantage and he missed the foul on Crysencio Summerville that led to a penalty.

Richard: Gutted - we were robbed. I think this is the pivotal game that will send us down.

Nottingham Forest fans

Mark: Unconvincing again. We'll probably only survive because of there being three worse teams than us, rather than deserving to stay here. Desperately need an out-and-out striker and we're missing Chris Wood badly.

Kris: Truthfully, we shaded it. VAR were on our side and Nicolas Dominguez's header looped in with a big slice of luck. Hopefully this gives us the boost we needed and we can get some reinforcements in to help. In a word - phew!

Simon: Forest just about deserved the win, but yet again were very ineffective in the box. Igor Jesus works hard, is strong and holds the ball up well, but lacks height and pace.

Dave: Massive three points. I'm still not fully convinced by Dycheball and it is a bit worrying that it took the VAR decision to wake us up, but ultimately we got the job done.

Ben: Relief doesn't even come close to describing my reaction to that match. That may well be a season-defining result. But as important as it is, it doesn't hide the fact that Forest are a shadow of their former selves. Will they recapture their previous verve any time soon? It's not looking overly likely.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Nuno Espirito Santo's position as West Ham head coach is heavily under the microscope.

Supporters and pundits have already written off the Portuguese's chances of keeping the club in the Premier League. But the real question to ask is: what do the owners think of the job Nuno is doing?

Well, there is certainly disappointment at the results that have left them rooted in the bottom three.

There is similar sentiment towards the performance of the team and thus the manager.

But the club's hierarchy are desperate to make Nuno's appointment a success.

They are actively backing him in the transfer market. The signings of Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos were both players selected by Nuno.

So to pull the rug from under him, having made signings on the manager's recommendation, would seem nonsensical. But the threat of relegation can radically change the direction of travel.

West Ham are seven points adrift from safety. That scenario will really test the board's backing of their under-pressure boss.

Striker Michail Antonio, formerly of West Ham, has seen a proposed deal with Leicester City fall through after picking up a muscle injury. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

It proved to be another frustrating evening for boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who has now collected only 11 points from his 16 games in charge of the Hammers since replacing the sacked Graham Potter in September.

That is the lowest total from any West Ham boss in the Premier League era - and the side now face an almighty battle if they are to stay in the top flight, which they have been in since 2012-13.

They were booed off at the end of the match by some of the remaining fans, though a large number had left before the final whistle.

Nuno, booked in the second half for complaining after a decision had gone against his side, had apologised to fans for what he called an "embarrassing" performance during their 3-0 loss to bottom club Wolves on Saturday.

He would have been pleased with his side's effort against Forest, though a lack of clinical finishing again proved decisive.

After they led through Murillo's 13th-minute own goal, the hosts had chances to double their lead, but could not do so and then Nicolas Dominguez equalised.

But Morgan Gibbs-White's 89th-minute penalty was a real sickener and the Hammers are seven points from safety - and in huge trouble.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's defeat by Nottingham Forest: "Very tight margins and a goal ruled out that we had that would put us in front. Then a lot of incidents with the penalty - a tough match.

"I think we did enough things to win the match. The boys worked very hard. I think we did enough to win it."

On debutants Pablo and Taty Castellanos: "Good, they have settled in with the team. They have qualities and they have come to help.

"We have to keep going, keep believing, and keep working. It is not over."

More from Nuno on Sky Sports: "I think we did enough good things to win the match today. The boys really worked hard. We got the advantage, we scored a goal ruled out by fine margins of offside, that was the moment of the game, and a lot of incidents happened, but I've got nothing to say about the hard work.

"That was the idea [to score early] and the boys did it. We had good combinations and control, we had good threat in attack. It was a good first half.

We started the second half well. There was a foul on the edge of the box on Summerville and then that leads to Forest breaking out, this takes the mind out of the players and makes it hard to explain how things happen."

On the penalty: "It happens so many times during the matches that you get confused about the rules honestly. How many times has this happened and penalties have not been given? So I don't quite understand.

"Areola goes for the ball, Soucek takes the ball out and then he cannot stop his movement, so hard to explain."

On the fans: "It's hard to ask them anything. It's hard to explain. We understand their frustration and the sadness and we are all the same. What to say? Keep helping us. Again they showed today when the team gives, they give back the support that we need. Today the boys showed that we are here to keep the fight."

On his belief: "You know me. I'll keep on going, believing and working with the boys. Sometimes you have good moments and bad moments but you need to be resilient enough to understand that this is the game."

Did you know?

• West Ham have gone 10 consecutive Premier League games without a victory for the first time since a run of 11 between December 2006 and March 2007.

• West Ham (12) and Forest (eight) have conceded more goals from corners than any other side in the league this season, with both team's opening goals coming in this manner.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on West Ham's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back on Wednesday for a selection of your replies

West Ham give a debut to Argentina international striker Valentin Castellanos, who joined the Hammers earlier this week for an undisclosed fee from Italian side Lazio.

He is one of four changes from the team that lost 3-0 at bottom side Wolves, with starts also for Jean-Clair Todibo, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta.

Sean Dyche makes two changes for Nottingham Forest as Callum Hudson-Odoi is in for Dilane Bakwa, while Matz Sels is in goal after John Victor sustained an injury in the 3-1 loss to Aston Villa at the weekend.