Premier League: Newcastle Keen to Add to West Ham’s Woes

Newcastle United vs West Ham United

After reaching their first cup final of the 21st century in midweek, it’s back to Premier League action for Newcastle as they host West Ham United.

The Magpies, who are in the midst of an amazing unbeaten run in the league, have added more firepower in their quest to solidify a top-four spot.

Meanwhile, the Hammers – who were themselves challenging for European places for the past couple of seasons – are now desperately hoping not to get sucked into a relegation scrap.

Talking Points

Magpies’ morale sky high

It’s a good time to be a Newcastle United supporter right now. Not only are the Magpies flying high in third in the Premier League – they currently sit third and are riding a 15-game unbeaten run – but they also just secured their first cup final berth since 1999 after beating Southampton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup semi-finals in midweek.

Sean Longstaff’s early brace in the second leg was enough to see the Magpies through 3-1 on aggregate.

However, star midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was shown a straight red card late in the match, which means he will miss Newcastle’s upcoming three matches, starting with West Ham.

With Guimaraes out, Joelinton may need to move back into midfield alongside Longstaff and Joe Willock. And the wide forward role Joelinton would vacate may just be filled by Newcastle newcomer Anthony Gordon.

The 21-year-old arrives following a massive £45million move from Everton, and he might very well be handed a start on his debut. If not, Eddie Howe also has Allan Saint-Maximin to bring in and provide Premier League 2023 highlights.

Newcastle’s attack has been misfiring of late. They have scored just one goal in their last four Premier League games, and that came in the form of a late Alexander Isak winner against Fulham one minute from time.

But on the other end, the Magpies’ defence has been close to impregnable. They have kept six straight clean sheets in the Premier League, and the goal keeper Nick Pope conceded against Saints snapped his incredible run of 10 consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.

West Ham showing signs of life

West Ham United are in a precarious position. They currently lie in 16th in the table, just one point above Wolves and Bournemouth in 17^th and 18^th, respectively.

However, the Hammers did their Premier League 2023 odds of staying up a lot of good by getting three valuable points in a 2-0 win over fellow relegation strugglers Everton.

Jarrod Bowen bagged a brace as he doubled his season tally to four Premier League goals. And he carried that fine goalscoring form over to their FA Cup tie against Derby Country as he scored in a 2-0 win.

Michail Antonio, who scored the other goal against Derby, started alongside Bowen with Gianluca Scamacca still out injured. New signing Danny Ings is also set to miss several weeks after hurting his knee on his debut.

On the other end, West Ham seem to be solidifying their defence. The return of Moroccan World Cup star Nayef Aguerd has been a significant boost to the Hammers’ backline. The team has conceded just three goals in the five games he’s started since returning from the World Cup break, two of which came in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United.

Kurt Zouma and veteran Angelo Ogbonna are also back to full fitness, giving Moyes more defensive options.

West Ham have a horrendous away record this season. They’ve collected just five points on their travels – tied for the fewest in the Premier League – with only one win, two draws and seven defeats.

History

This will be the 49th meeting between Newcastle and West Ham in the Premier League era. The Magpies hold a 22-14 advantage in wins, with 12 draws.

Newcastle went undefeated against West Ham during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, with three wins and a draw in four meetings.

However, West Ham finally struck back last season as they beat Newcastle 4-2 at St James Park and claimed a 1-1 draw at home.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Newcastle installed as big 1.63 favourites against West Ham, who are priced at 5.40. A draw is 3.70.

This match has the potential to be much more competitive than their current positions in the standings may suggest. The absence of Bruno Guimaraes will be a big blow to Newcastle, who are already struggling to score.

West Ham have similar issues scoring goals, but their improving defence could make it tough for the Magpies.

With all of those factors in mind, expect a rather low-scoring match at St James’ Park, with the outside chance of the Hammers snatching a point.

 

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