West Ham United fared well, performance wise, in one of the toughest fixtures of their season- an away trip to the Etihad Stadium. A 1-0 scoreline was a fair depiction of the game as the Hammers defended excellently and it needed a penalty from Sergio Aguero to keep Manchester City on track to chase Liverpool down.
Manuel Pellegrini’s thoughts will shift now to a much better-looking fixture against Newcastle United at home. While it might seem to be comparatively easier to the test against City, recent history does not bode well for the Hammers going up against the Magpies. They have won just 2 out of the last 6 meetings but Pellegrini has improved the squad to an extent from where they can be considered as favourites.
WEST HAM UNITED TEAM NEWS
Manuel’s injury headaches have been eased somewhat with the return to action of Manuel Lanzini and Samir Nasri while the defensive duo of Fabian Balbuena and Winston Reid are also back in training. But he might once again miss the services of Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell at left-back. Sanchez, Wilshere and Yarmolenko remain out while there is also doubt on Marko Arnautovic’s availability.
PREDICTED WEST HAM UNITED LINEUP VS NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1)
DEFENCE
Lukasz Fabianski will start in goal once again. He had a decent performance against City but could not do much with the penalty.
Ryan Fredericks was excellent on Wednesday and will start again at right-back. He made two successful tackles and two aerial clearances while also pulling off a brilliant goal-line clearance to keep West Ham in the game.
Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna look likely to continue as the two centre-backs with Balbuena and Reid expected to return to action after the international break.
While Ben Johnson was decent on his debut, a small calf issue might see Pablo Zabaleta make a start at left-back in case Arthur Masuaku is not fit in time.
MIDFIELD
Declan Rice seems certain to start after another positive display on Wednesday. Mark Noble might be the one to come in at the expense of Pedro Obiang and will team up alongside Rice in central midfield.
Manuel Lanzini had a couple of appearances off the bench in the last two matches but might start against the Magpies. He is unlikely to be used for the whole duration of the match and a 60-minute run seems to be a likelier option.
ATTACK
Felipe Anderson should start on the left-wing. The Brazilian did not have the best of games against City but will be keen to get back to form against Newcastle on Saturday.
Michail Antonio had a tiring day on the flanks and is likely to make way for Robert Snodgrass who will line up on the right wing in that case.
Marko Arnautovic was a late absentee due to illness but we expect him to recover in time to feature on Saturday.
