West Ham visits Newcastle this weekend in a match-up of two sides that are currently on the right side of a critical dividing line. The Hammers and Magpies are also two teams that happen to be the last squads above those important threshholds, and thus know they must keep winning in order to stay there.
Newcastle are in the final safety position, six points ahead of Fulham. Meanwhile the Hammers are in the fourth and final Champions League qualification slot, one point ahead of Chelsea, and three ahead of Liverpool. They cannot let up, as the race for UCL qualifying is really fierce down the stretch.
Newcastle United vs West Ham FYIs
Kickoff: Sat April 17, 12:30pm, London Stadium
Odds: Newcastle (+265) West Ham (+105) Draw (+235)
PL Position: Newcastle 17th, 32 pts West Ham 4th, 52 pts
PL Form Guide: Newcastle WDLDD West Ham WWDLW
West Ham Team News
The Irons are getting it done despite a slew of injuries, and one man who is really stepping up right now is Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard. The 28-year-old winger is arguably the most exciting player in the league right now, as he’s scored eight times since the beginning of February.
The English international, who recently just went an entire calendar year without scoring a domestic goal, is one scoring strike away from being the team’s top scorer in league play, despite not featuring in the PL at all until February 3. Amazing! Lingard will need to keep up the purple patch, as the Hammers will once again be without the services of some key players.
Three are ruled out for sure: Angelo Ogbonna (foot), Michail Antonio (thigh) and Declan Rice (knee). Also, five more face late fitness tests in order to be available here: Manuel Lanzini (knock), Darren Randolph (groin), Andriy Yarmolenko (knee), Aaron Cresswell (hamstring), Mark Noble (arm). With Newcastle having taken the reverse fixture, this is set to be a tightly contested clash.
That said, let’s look at how David Moyes might line ’em up in Geordieland.
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction (4-2-3-1):
Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Noble, Soucek; Bowen, Lingard, Fornals; Benrahma
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.