West Ham United will be aiming to enhance their Premier League survival bid when they face Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers come into this game brimming with confidence after securing a dramatic comeback victory over London rivals Chelsea on Wednesday.
David Moyes’s side come from behind to claim all three points against the Blues. Despite only seeing 27% possession, goals from Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio, and Andriy Yarmolenko canceled out a Willian double.
However, back-to-back defeats after the restart mean that West Ham are nowhere near safe just yet. The Hammers remain three points clear of the drop zone with six games left to play.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have been in red-hot form since the resumption, claiming seven points from a possible nine in recent weeks.
After thrashing Sheffield United 3-0, the Magpies drew with relegation-battler Aston Villa before hammering Bournemouth 4-1 last time out.
Having not scored all season, striker Dwight Gayle has now netted in back-to-back games, while winger Allan Saint-Maximin racked up a hat-trick of assists against the Cherries.
Following an impressive six-game unbeaten run, Newcastle now sit a whopping 15 points clear of the drop zone and only three points shy of the top half.
Newcastle’s home form is also very good. The Magpies are unbeaten in 13 of their previous 15 league games at St. James’ Park.
By contrast, West Ham have lost their last seven Premier League away outings and have lost ten of their previous 13 away games in all competitions.
Newcastle claimed a 3-2 victory over West Ham in the reverse fixture back in November and have now won four of their last six meetings with the Hammers.
Looking at the team news, Newcastle will be without the injured Florian Lejeune, Sean Longstaff, Javi Manquillo, and Ciaran Clark this weekend.
Sebastien Haller and Arthur Masuaku are both nearing a return for West Ham, while Mark Noble is a doubt. Robert Snodgrass remains a long-term absentee for the Hammers.
West Ham will have a spring in their step after seeing off Chelsea last time out, but Newcastle are on an excellent run right now.
Forebet predicts that Newcastle will keep their sixth clean sheet in eight home games on Sunday. A home win is on the cards.