Why has it come to this? How have Newcastle United been unable to secure their Premier League status before the final day of the season? Only a win against West Ham United would guarantee the Magpies' top-flight survival on Sunday (3pm kick-off) - lose or draw and John Carver's men will be relying on Manchester United doing them a favour against Hull City at the KC Stadium in order to avoid playing Championship football in 2015-16. This seems all the more incredible when you consider the fact that the Magpies were in 10th place, on 26 points after 19 games, when Alan Pardew left to join Crystal Palace at the turn of the year. Fast-forward another 18 matches, and Carvers Newcastle have managed to collect just 10 more points and they are now in 17th place in the Premier League table. So what is the likelihood of Newcastle picking up three points on Sunday? Or will Sam Allardyce, Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Co come back to haunt their former employers and condemn them to Championship football next season? Well, here are 10 key match facts ahead of Newcastle United vs West Ham United at St James' Park on Sunday - and they help to display the likelihood of whether or not the Magpies will be playing Premier League or Championship football next season...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
