Newcastle United will be looking to make it five wins on the bounce in all competitions on Sunday when they travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United in the Premier League.
The Magpies smashed Paris Saint-German 4-1 on matchday two of the Champions League group stage on Wednesday evening, which is being ranked as one of their best-ever-seen performances at St James’ Park. With the result against PSG, they stretched their unbeaten run across all formats since the September international break to six matches.
However, the challenge for Eddie Howe is getting his players ready to continue their fine Premier League form by beating West Ham, who arrive on Sunday off the back of an impressive 2-1 away victory over SC Freiburg in their second Europa League group stage fixture.
Newcastle United Team News
Eddie Howe stated in his pre-match press conference that Callum Wilson and Joelinton are ‘close’ to a recall against West Ham, after both missed the thrilling midweek win against PSG in the Champions League.
But the game will come too soon for Sven Botman, while Anthony Gordon is suspended for picking up his fifth yellow card of the Premier League season last weekend against Burnley.
As things stand, Harvey Barnes is the only long-term absentee for Newcastle United.
Predicted Newcastle lineup vs West Ham (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Nick Pope should take his spot between the sticks, with Newcastle lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him.
Defence
Jamaal Lascelles has performed admirably since coming in for the injured Sven Botman in the last few games. He is set to keep his place in the Newcastle lineup intact and partner Fabian Schar, who scored a worldie against PSG.
Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn should continue forming a stable full-back pairing in the Newcastle lineup, and the duo have to be defensively alert when facing West Ham’s tricky wide players.
Midfield
As for the midfield unit, Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff and Sandro Tonali will form a dynamic partnership in the Newcastle lineup.
With Bruno acting as a sitter, Tonali and Longstaff should get the license to move forward and contribute to the team’s attacking play. The trio must function very well in order to stop West Ham from playing their natural game.
If Joelinton is passed fit, he will occupy a place on the bench along with Elliot Anderson.
Attack
Jacob Murphy appears to be the ideal candidate to replace the suspended Anthony Gordon on the left flank in the Newcastle lineup. In that case, he’ll join Alexander Isak and Miguel Almiron in the Newcastle attack.
Fresh from scoring the opening goal in Newcastle’s memorable 4-1 win over PSG, Almiron will be itching to get himself on the scoresheet against West Ham. Isak, meanwhile, will spearhead the attack, with Callum Wilson’s availability for the weekend’s fixture touch-and-go.