After reaching their first major cup final in 24 years, Newcastle United will look to strengthen their grip on a top-four spot in the Premier League when they play host to struggling West Ham United on Saturday.
The Premier League encounter at St James’ Park on Saturday evening is a crucial one for both sides, but for very different reasons. The Hammers are mired in relegation trouble, whereas Newcastle are currently in the top four.
The Magpies’ are having another season to remember. Fresh off their biggest triumph in over two decades, punching their ticket in the League Cup final against Manchester United later this month, Eddie Howe & co. turn their thoughts back to the Premier League with a tricky meeting with West Ham on Saturday.
A return to normality will serve the Magpies just fine, with the Toon absolutely flying high and sitting in the third spot in the table, three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand over the north London club.
By the lofty standards needed at the top of the Premier League, the Magpies have eased their foot off the gas a little. Three 0-0 draws have resulted in only six points out of the last 12. A dominant 0-0 stalemate against Crystal Palace would normally be regarded as a positive result by Newcastle supporters, but it seems like a wasted opportunity these days.
⚫️⚪️ Newcastle United this season;
▪️ Third in the Premier League
▪️ EFL Cup Finals,1st Cup Final in 24 yrs
▪️ Most clean sheets in all comps by a team in Europe's top 5 leagues🔛 This time last season,Newcastle were 19th in the Premier League.#NEWSOU|#NUFC|#CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/5O5CAZpNf2
— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) January 31, 2023
With Tottenham, who are currently three points adrift of Newcastle, not playing until Sunday (against Manchester City), Saturday’s encounter appears to be a perfect opportunity for the Toon to increase their cushion above top-four hopefuls and ensure they are safely in the top four with more difficult matches to come in the coming months.
West Ham, meanwhile, have struggled this time around despite a huge summer outlay, and manager David Moyes remains under pressure. Still, having overcome Everton in a Premier League six-pointer before beating Derby in the FA Cup, perhaps things are on the rise as they look to distance themselves from the bottom three with a positive result against Newcastle.
West Ham and Newcastle played out an intriguing 1-1 draw when these teams last met each other. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby:
"Both players will be available. They did a couple of individual sessions around the game and trained with the group yesterday. It was a small group so they haven't trained fully with the team but they're fit and fine." pic.twitter.com/V8rjGGO4LS
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) February 3, 2023
Newcastle United’s progression to the final came at a cost. Of course, Eddie Howe’s side must battle through their next three Premier League fixtures without their most influential player, Bruno Guimaraes, but life is never simple. In a further blow, summer recruit Alexander Isak, who has delivered impactful cameos off the bench in recent weeks, is also doubtful to feature here.
On the positive side, winter additions Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby are in line to make their debuts, likely off the bench, with the latter set to face his former club.
Eddie Howe will set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation and will be forced to make one tweak to the first XI for this home encounter. With Bruno Guimaraes ruled out, Joelinton looks set to drop into midfield alongside Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff, with Allan Saint-Maximin coming in to operate on the left flank.
There should be no changes at the back. Nick Pope will continue to feature in between the sticks for the Magpies after his incredible record of ten clean sheets in a row in all competitions was snapped by a powerful Che Adams strike last time out. Sven Botman will function alongside Fabian Schar at the heart of Newcastle’s backline, flanked by the ever-present full-back duo of Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn.
With Isak possibly missing the West Ham game after being forced off against Southampton due to concussion, Wilson will be tasked with providing the goods in the final third against a low-on-confidence West Ham backline.
Miguel Almiron’s pace and movement will cause the West Ham defenders plenty of issues. And if they allow him multiple chances in front of goal, the Paraguayan is well capable of scoring at least one of them, although Newcastle have scored just once across their last four league matches. Wilson has been going through a goal drought of late. But expect the striker to end that barren run this weekend against his favourite opposition.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Willock, Longstaff, Joelinton; Almiron, Wilson, Saint-Maximin
West Ham United
A fair share of gloom surrounds West Ham at present, with the supporters left frustrated and befuddled by the lack of vision and preparation involved in this past window. But the Hammers were at least able to sign an intelligent but injury-prone striker in the form of Danny Ings, whose goals could prove vital in their survival bid.
However, any positives that emerge out of the Ings transfer are negated by the loss of Craig Dawson, the Hammers’ most reliable central defender in recent seasons, and one of the main goal threats on the opposite end, with West Ham relying heavily on set-pieces.
As far as injuries are concerned, David Moyes will have to make do without the services of striker Maxwel Cornet, Gianluca Scamacca, and key defender Kurt Zouma. In addition, it is unlikely Ings will be risked here.
Moyes gives a fitness update on Ings, Scamacca, Zouma and Cornet 🗣️#NEWWHU | #TalkingPoint with @LycamobileUK pic.twitter.com/TTpkusZW5V
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 3, 2023
However, David Moyes was able to rest the likes of Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Lukasz Fabianski, and Vladimir Coufal during Monday’s FA Cup victory over Derby. So the cohort of first-teamers will be fresh and should come straight back into the fold here.
Fabianski will return in goal after Alphonse Areola started in the FA Cup. The Hammers could set up in a 3-4-2-1 system in front of the Polish shot-stopper.
Should the West Ham boss opt for a back five again, Aaron Cresswell and Thilo Kehrer look to be competing for the spot on the left of the three-man defence. Kehrer, Angelo Ogbonna, and Nayef Aguerd will form the back three. Vladimir Coufal and Emerson will be the wing-backs.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will form the usual midfield pivot as they look to capitalise on Bruno Guimaraes’s absence in Newcastle’s midfield and try controlling the game more. Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen will act as the two attacking midfielders, looking to engineer good chances as well as get on the scoresheet themselves, if possible. With Scamacca ruled out, Michail Antonio looks ready to lead the line.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Aguerd; Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Emerson; Paqueta, Bowen; Antonio
Key Stats
- Newcastle United have scored in each of their last six Premier League clashes with West Ham United since losing 3-0 and 2-0 against them in the 2018/19 season (W3 D2).
- West Ham United are without a win in their last nine away games in the Premier League.
- Nick Pope has maintained a clean sheet in his previous six Premier League matches. No English goalkeeper has ever done so in seven consecutive games in the competition.
- Callum Wilson has scored more goals against West Ham than he has against any other Premier League side, hitting the back of the net nine times in his last 11 outings against the Hammers.
- No team has conceded fewer Premier League goals than Newcastle (11) this term or kept 12 clean sheets in 20 Premier League matches this season.
Player to Watch
Sean Longstaff
In a Newcastle side that included the attacking talents of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, and Callum Wilson, few expected Longstaff to be the hero to fire his boyhood club to their first major final in 25 years. The 25-year-old’s meagre tally of two goals in his last 80 matches speaks for his profligacy when it comes to putting the ball into the back of the net.
This tally was not only matched inside the first 20 minutes at St. James’ Park, but the midfielder should have bagged a hat-trick with a couple more prime opportunities.
In truth, the goals were long overdue. He covers every blade of grass and gets into promising positions inside the opposition box with his blindside or deep runs. With Bruno Guimaraes unavailable, the enforcer will slot into the heart of Newcastle’s midfield three and will need to play at a high level to compensate for the Brazilian playmaker’s absence.
Prediction
Newcastle United 1-0 West Ham United
Newcastle may struggle to recover from such a historic high in the midweek. But it is difficult to look past the fact that Saturday’s game at St. James’ Park puts the team with the best home record in the division against a side that tends to struggle on the road. However, football seldom works as easily as this.
The Hammers have not been free-flowing in the Premier League. But they always have the quality to pose a danger and can give the hosts a scare or two in front of their home crowd. A cagey battle between the clashing styles of Eddie Howe and David Moyes could be in store.
Nonetheless, the Magpies are riding a strong wave of positive momentum and will be considered firm favourites to win this game. And they should have enough firepower in the final third to fire themselves to victory.
