MY ACCOUNT
– Newcastle have scored just one goal in their last four Premier League games
– Fewer than three goals have been scored in West Ham’s last four matches
– Recommended Bet: Back a Tie and Under 2.5 goals
Newcastle return to Premier League action on Saturday evening when they entertain a West Ham side that appear to be regaining some form and lost belief.
By securing their FA Cup passage at the expense of Derby last Monday, David Moyes’ side claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since October.
Jarrod Bowen was on target again after grabbing a brace against Everton the weekend before in a match that could have been Moyes’ last at the London Stadium had the result gone the other way.
Magpies counterpart Eddie Howe is under no such pressure as he approaches his 600th game in club management, having just guided Newcastle to the Carabao Cup Final.
Howe has sought to “refocus” his players after their semi-final win over Southampton, which came at a cost as Bruno Guimaraes incurred a three-match suspension following his red card.
Team news
Newcastle look set to be without Guimaraes and Alexander Isak, who has been in concussion protocols after suffering a head injury against Southampton on Tuesday night.
Howe was unsure if the Swede would be involved this weekend, but did suggest Allan Saint-Maximin will get an opportunity to cement his place in the Magpies starting XI.
The Frenchman has been unable to break into Howe’s regular line-up, but should start in attack with Joelinton operating in midfield alongside Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock.
The manager could also hand an immediate debut to January signing Anthony Gordon, who was snapped up for an initial £40million fee from Everton last week.
West Ham boss Moyes revealed there could be a sooner-than-expected return to action for Danny Ings at St James’ Park.
The former Aston Villa striker picked up a knock in the win over Everton and was unable to feature on Monday because he was cup-tied.
The Hammers will still be without an injured trio of stars with Gianluca Scamacca (knee), Maxwel Cornet (calf) and Kurt Zouma (thigh) not travelling to Tyneside.
The stats
Howe’s win percentage after 55 games as Newcastle manager (50.9%) just eclipses his record from the first spell he had at Bournemouth when the Cherries won exactly half of his 102 matches in charge.
The Magpies boss has come out on top against Moyes only once from their six previous meetings across the dugout, with the Scotsman winning twice while there have been three drawn matches.
Callum Wilson has failed to find the back of the net in his last 10 United appearances with his last goals coming in the club’s 4-0 trouncing of Aston Villa in October.
Prediction
The Hammers share the joint-worst away record in the Premier League this season after collecting just five points from a possible 30.
So it is unlikely that they can come up with what is needed to beat the joint-third strongest home team in the division at fortress St James’ Park.
But Moyes’ men did follow up their 2-0 victory in the must-win Premier League game with Everton by securing a comfortable FA Cup passage at Derby and confidence is returning.
Three clean sheets in their last four games have helped rebuild morale and they could claim a point in the North East if they can resist a Magpies attack that has been doing just enough lately.
Midfielders have been picking up the slack during Wilson’s goal drought and the likely absence of Isak will not help matters on Saturday.
Goalscoring chances could be few and far between in this clash between two clubs that have each featured in only one game with more than two strikes in their last five played.
