Premier League: Magpies Winning Run Can Be Too Much For The Hammers

Newcastle United vs West Ham United

Momentum in football is everything; and when Premier League: Newcastle United vs West Ham United kicks off on Monday night Eddie Howe’s Magpies‘ are aiming for a fourth win on the bounce.

Newcastle have won back to back league games and are sitting in eighth place in the Premier League but, in a tight chasing pack, just a point behind third placed Chelsea who they beat recently in the Carabao Cup. Meanwhile, Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham United is down in 14^th place, five points above the drop zone and they went into the international break with a bore draw 0-0 at home to Everton, while Howe’s men won 3-1 away at high flying Nottingham Forest. 

The pre-match Newcastle United vs West Ham United betting odds back the Magpies to continue their run of form and heap more pressure on the underperforming Hammers.

 

Talking Points

Trippier could be ready to return

Newcastle’s expensively assembled squad has plenty of flair in it and a fair amount of top flight experience. And the potential return of wing-back Kieran Trippier is good news for Magpies fans. The 34-year-old former Atletico Madrid star has played 77 games for the Geordies since his arrival in 2022 and has been a big part of this quickly evolving team. His defensive nous and ability to raid down the wing made him a pioneer of the modern day wingbacks and Trippier has one of the best crosses in the game, as well as world class dead ball delivery.      

He has been out with a hamstring strain since early October but is nearing a return. European qualification is the target for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle and he needs all his best players fit and available and Trippier provides both experience and creativity.

Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes have four goals each this season while Isak has also made two assists and they would both benefit from a Trippier return. And there may be more good news too, with striker Callum Wilson also nearing fitness, and the England man has an outside chance of playing some part on Monday.  

 

Hammers’ reliance on Bowen

The outside football world expects the Newcastle United vs West Ham United highlights to tell a story of Geordie dominance and that may well turn out to be the case; but that is not a comfortable thought for Hammers fans who watched their club spend handsomely in the summer under new manager Lopetegui. But the club is yet to see a return on their investment with just three wins from 11 games leaving them well off the pace and, remember, this is the team which won the Europa Conference League just 18 months ago under former boss David Moyes.

And the team is heavily reliant on skipper Jarrrod Bowen, at the London Stadium since 2020, for its goals. He is top scoring with three goals and has made four assists and Bowen scored his first international goal in England’s 5-0 drubbing of the Republic of Ireland last week. Elsewhere in the attacking unit, summer signing Crycensio Summerville is struggling, with just one goal in ten appearances while the fleet of foot Mohammed Kudus is unavailable, after his three match ban for a red card in the recent defeat to Tottenham was extended to five games after he admitted to violent conduct after he sparked a melee between the London rivals.

That’s not the kind of passion Lopetegui wants to see; though he will demand his players fight for every point. Bowen needs support and the loss of Kudus is a blow, meanwhile the Hammers are still waiting to see if another summer signing, Niclas Fullkrug is nearing a recovery from an Achilles injury which has dragged on longer than hoped.      

 

History

With 25 wins to 14 the Magpies have had the better of this relationship and there have been 14 draws. Last season Newcastle won this fixture 4-3 as Harvey Barnes came off the bench to score twice.    

On the face of it there isn’t a lot to choose between these two teams in terms of recent form, the Geordies have won three, drawn one and lost two of the last six while the Hammers have won two, drawn two and lost two. The crucial factor though is that Newcastle’s wins came in their last three outings, and West Ham have failed to win on any of their last five away games.  

 

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP odds say this is a home win, not nailed on but a strong favourite with Newcastle priced at 1.45 to make it four victories on the run. West Ham to win for the first time in five meetings with the Magpies is priced at 5.22 and the draw is 4.10. The hosts have momentum and a passionate St James Park crowd on their side and that may well be too much for the Londoners.  

   

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