Can buoyant Hammers sink deflated Newcastle in Monday night's Football?

Mikey Paine looks ahead to Monday night's battle of the two English managers as West Ham host Newcastle United at The London Stadium.

After what can only be described as an anti-climactic week for Eddie Howe’s team they face a West Ham side who over the course of the last two weeks have been newly galvanised with impressive wins over Arsenal and Leicester.

West Ham Team News

West Ham manager Graham Potter will look to go 3 games unbeaten in the Premier League with a win over Newcastle United this week.

However, he may be forced to find a replacement for Lucas Paqueta and Vladimir Coufal as both players seem to be at risk of missing out. Paqueta recently posted himself training with a caption “De volta, Gloria a Deus” which translates to English as “Back at it, Glory to God,” suggesting that there may be a chance of seeing him back him in action against Newcastle.

“De volta, Gloria a Deus”

Paqueta’s post was further liked by Bruno Guimaraes, who he and Lucas share a close friendship as compatriots of the Brazilian nation team. Over the last few fixtures between these two sides though it must be said there is most definitely a competitive nature between the two players showing no love for each other as they battle ferociously every time they face.

With regard to Vladimir Coufal on the other hand, he appears to be a lot more promising with Potter issuing a statement on his fitness.

“Vladi, there is certainly a chance for Newcastle [on Monday].”

This bodes well for the Hammers as both players have been crucial in the teams recent form.

Predicted Line-up

The predicted line-up for West Ham is to be a 5-3-2 formation which has seen immense success in recent times with them scoring 5 goals in their last 5 matches.

A solid back 5 will set the physicality for this game and their high flying full backs will be expected to deliver multiple crosses into the box hoping to hit their talisman Jarrod Bowen.

Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell, Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Thomas Soucek, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Álvarez, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen

Newcastle United Team News

After a disappointing cup tie against Brighton, Newcastle United look to hopefully reset and find some form against Potter’s side who have been a problem for a couple of teams recently including Arsenal.

More notably, the sending off of Anthony Gordon caused particular uproar amongst Newcastle fans as they found out the full consequence of his actions as he misses the Carabao cup final.

Alexander Isak also came off injured holding his groin which has created some speculation over whether or not he is able to play this week worrying many fans. Apart from that other injuries remain the same, Lewis Hall, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles will all miss this weeks game 2 of which have been instrumental in the teams success over recent times.

Not all doom and gloom

In contrast, it is still not all doom and gloom as Newcastle have the significant advantage over the Hammers with 24 wins to their 15 which can hopefully transpire into their performance as they can move into 5th place depending on other games around them.

When asked about Isak’s fitness Howe stated “ he had some tightness in his body, but not an injury,” which further gives the Magpies hope that they can see their focal-point in attack fit and ready for their upcoming contest.

Predicted Line-up

The Magpies’ predicted line-up will most likely be 4-3-3 looking to play off the high press which has worked beautifully since Howe’s arrival as they like to win the ball up high to then create opportunities as the back line of the opposing team is disorganised helping them to counter and create that all important goal.

Martin Dubravkà, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak

How will the game play out?

From my assessment, this game has all the ingredients to be a high scoring game if that is Isak stays fit. With Newcastle not keeping a clean sheet in 5 matches, West Ham will be confident that they can penetrate the vulnerable defence. And with Lucas Paqueta possibly returning, it is all the positive for Potter’s side.

For me, I believe that Newcastle might open the scoring - but this all depends on how Howe wants to setup. He also needs to get across to his players just how hard he needs them to work so that they are enabled to play Howe’s signature style of football.

Player to watch: Alexander Isak

Mikey Paine’s Score Prediction:

West Ham United 1-2 Newcastle United