Eddie Howe and his high-flying Newcastle United side will travel to London this Wednesday to take on relegation-threatened West Ham United.
The Hammers remain embroiled in the relegation battle in the Premier League despite a narrow 1-0 win over relegation battlers Southampton last time out. The win was their second in their last four PL games (D1, L1) and their second clean sheet in that period.
While the win was not enough to move them more than two points above Leicester in 19th position, it at least relieved some pressure on David Moyes and bought him more time. But given the raft of managerial dismissals we witnessed this past weekend in the English top-flight league, Moyes will know he cannot lose more games.
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West Ham will host Newcastle, hoping their form at the London Stadium will help them as they are unbeaten in five PL home matches (W3, D2), their longest run of the season.
Meanwhile, Newcastle will look to make it four consecutive wins in the league when they travel to London, having beaten Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United in the last three rounds of league games.
The most recent outing, which saw them exert revenge over Man United with a 2-0, moved them into the top four places on goal difference. So their top four destiny is now in their hands, and they will be desperate to take it.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe urged his side to “build on” as their push for a first PL top-four finish since 2002/03 gathers momentum. His side won’t mind hitting the road in search of rising to the challenge, with their only defeat across their last ten travelling PL games coming at the hands of Manchester City (W5, D4).
The Magpies have been similarly high-flying on their visits to London, too, avoiding defeat in all four PL visits to the capital so far this season (W2, D2), last piecing together a longer such unbeaten run over nine years ago.
Meanwhile, West Ham are the only side in Europe’s top-five leagues yet to score a goal inside the opening 15 minutes this season. So, a first-half goal could be an anomaly here. A low-scoring encounter is also expected, given Newcastle’s solidity in defence.
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