The Hammers ‘ hope to finish on the top four might be happening after all. Their positive trend still endures in home and away fixtures. Now, with only one point away from Leicester on the third, David Moyes’s men are eyeing for another three points on the road. Ideally, it should not be difficult for them to secure a win. Yet, The Magpies tend to be able to come from behind, which is quite the opposite from West Ham whose one of the weaknesses this season, lacking of clean sheets. This would be invetably providing a different challenges for them.
The teams’ previous games
Newcastle United made a superb comeback on the road while taking on their close contender, Burnley. After conceding early through Matej Vydra, Steve Bruce’s men did not give up and equalised by Jacob Murphy’s long range shot. Allan Saint-Maximin scored the winning goal after penetrating The Clarets’s backline.
Meanwhile, West Ham defeated Leicester City 3-2 last weekend. Jesse Lindgard’s brace plus Jarred Bowen’s goal gave them the three-goal cushion before Kelechi Iheanacho bagged a brace as The Foxes’s response.
Possible tactic
Steve Bruce is missing his captain again, Jamal Lascelles at the defence alongside Fabian Schar, Isaac Hayden and Ryan Fraser. Fortunately, his squad has quite sufficient figures to cover them. The 5-3-2 formation will be employed again with Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandes to take over the skipper and Schar’s post while Matt Longstaff will be featuring in the middle as Hayden’s replacement. The return of Callum Wilson would be a great addition upfront alongside Allan Saint-Maximin.
David Moyes might continue deploying 3-4-1-2 formation with Jesse Lindgard accompanying Jarred Bowen who would cover Michael Antonio’s absence due to his injury supported by Said Benrahma behind them. In the midfield, Declan Rice and Mark Noble’s injury would be a blow for them. Moyes might patch up Tomas Soucek in the midfield alongside Pablo Fornals and Arthur Masuaku plus Vladimir Scoufal will probably get a nod again to play wide . Some other names who will be ruled out are Angelo Ogbonna, Andrey Yarmolenko Aaron Cresswell and Darren Randolph.
Players to watch
The Toon Army is relying the former Nice man, Allan Saint-Maximin as the attacking midfilder. He has registered three goals and four assists. Another notable name to watch is the Slovakian international goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka who made a number of clinical saves in the previous outing.
Jesse Lindgard has been outstanding since he arrived in London stadium. He has contributed eight goals and three assists. Some other notable name to watch are the top scorer Tomas Soucek and Jarred Bowen.
Newcastle vs West Ham Prediction
It is quite tricky match for both sides since Jesse Lindgard and Co normally would start the game impressively but then they tend to make some unnecessary errors leading to concession, as what happened while facing off Arsenal and Leicester. The key would be in their own consistency. A narrow win for the away side could still be clinched here.
Betting odds
According to the punters, The home side is the slight favourite. They are backed to win at 3/1, whereas David Moyes side’s win market is at 11/10. The draw result is at the value of 13/5.
