West Ham-Newcastle is a Week 7 Premier League rescheduled fixture and is played on Wednesday at 9pm: TV, odds, predictions
A victory worth double that obtained on Sunday by West Ham in the direct clash with Southampton. Aguerd scored the decider midway through the first half: the Moroccan defender’s goal castigated the Saints (1-0) and allowed the Hammers to breathe a little.
For David Moyes’ side it was their fourth consecutive league and Conference League result. Awaiting more probing tests in East London, they are content with small improvements, which mainly concern the defensive phase. After the blow against De Zerbi’s Brighton, West Ham only conceded one goal between Aston Villa, Southampton and the cup double against Larnaca Cypriots. The conservative attitude adopted last weekend was surprising but not too surprising: Moyes decided to ‘hand the ball over’ to the opponents and then try to strike at the right moment, defending the result tooth and nail. The Hammers’ season remains disappointing in any case and could only be ‘saved’ by winning the Conference League, in which the Londoners are among the main favourites.
A crucial recovery for both
Not yet certain of reappointment, the Scottish coach will first have to think about bringing home salvation. The games, in fact, are still wide open
Willock
Even after the last day, the league table remained very short from 12th place down. West Ham have climbed to 27 points like Everton, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth – one more than third-last Leeds – but still have two games to make up. The first is the one with Newcastle, who on Sunday powerfully renewed their fourth-place ambitions by beating Manchester United (2-0) in their direct clash and joining them on 50 points. The Magpies avenged their defeat in the League Cup final and now have the opportunity to consolidate their momentary third place. It was Eddie Howe’s side’s third win in a row and the mini-crisis is now behind them.
The Prediction
Nobody in the Premier League has conceded fewer goals than Newcastle. Not even the two teams that are contending for the title. Which is why we don’t expect a prolific contest against a West Ham side that score few goals and are only looking to score points. The total goals could be less than three in the London Stadium challenge.
The West Ham-Newcastle matchday line-ups
- WEST HAM (4-3-3): Fabianski; Kehrer, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri; Soucek, Rice, Paqueta; Bowen, Ings, Benrahma.
- NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
