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It’s safe to say that Newcastle United has had a productive two weeks. The Magpies had a memorable UEFA Champions League night on Wednesday when they thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 at a boisterous St. James’s Park, as if an astonishing 8-0 destruction of Sheffield United and a League Cup victory over Manchester City weren’t enough. They will travel to West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Newcastle won the Champions League with their biggest-ever victory, with goals from hometown favorites Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almirón, and Fabian Schär. Kylian Mbappé and the rest of the team were helpless to stop them. Goals should be anticipated whichever Eddie Howe selects for Sunday’s encounter in east London, but he must decide whether to rotate.
Newcastle has used 20 players this season, with 10 of them finding the back of the net, more than any other Premier League team, excluding own goals. At Bramall Lane two weeks ago, a remarkable eight different players scored, which undoubtedly helped.
Callum Wilson, who missed the PSG victory due to a slight hamstring strain, is one of the players who might rejoin Newcastle’s starting lineup. Only Wayne Rooney (14) and Michael Owen (13) have scored more goals against West Ham in the Premier League (12 in 13 games). Wilson has scored more goals against West Ham than any other opponent. Wilson scored seven goals against West Ham on the road.
If healthy, Wilson might start in the attack alongside Alexander Isak and Almirón, as Howe balances a number of selection concerns. Joelinton is questionable after leaving last week’s 2-0 victory over Burnley with a hamstring injury, Anthony Gordon is suspended after earning five cautions in Premier League play, and Harvey Barnes is out indefinitely.
Sven Botman, a defensive rock, should come back after the international break, but Jamaal Lascelles will remain in this position. In his last two Premier League games, right-back Kieran Trippier had four assists—three against Sheffield United and one against Burnley. He has produced more opportunities (132) and assists (11) than any other Premier League defense since the start of the previous campaign.
Mbappé may have been kept quiet by Trippier and colleagues, but can they do the same for Jarrod Bowen and West Ham? The Hammers lead Newcastle by one point heading into their match on Sunday. Bowen and Tomás Soucek scored in last week’s 2-0 victory against Sheffield United for the Hammers, who had lost consecutive Premier League games to Manchester City and Liverpool.
David Moyes has the Hammers off to their greatest Premier League start since 2015-16, when they also had 13 points at this juncture and went on to finish seventh under Slaven Bili, with 13 points from seven league games. With a victory on Sunday, the Irons would have their greatest eight-game top-flight point total (16 points) since 1999-2000.
Additionally, they have had a fantastic start in Europe. On Thursday, they made some history by defeating Freiburg in the Europa League and extending their winning streak in UEFA tournaments to 17 games. That streak actually sets a record for English teams and includes last season’s Europa Conference League qualification stage.
Bowen and James Ward-Prowse, both England internationals, are largely to thank for West Ham’s promising start. Vladimr Coufal’s cutback was expertly finished by Bowen against the Blades, giving him eight goal involvements in his past nine Premier League games (six goals, two assists). Bowen has played in seven Premier League games versus Newcastle without scoring, and he has only played in eight of those matches against Tottenham.
Ward-Prowse, on the other hand, co-created the most chances in a Premier League game with six in West Ham’s most recent league contest. Newcastle must be on the lookout for his signature set-piece deliveries as he leads all Irons players in chances created per 90 minutes in the league this season (2.4).
Due to an adductor injury, striker Michail Antonio was unable to go to Freiburg for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League match. In his place, Bowen started in the center and set up Lucas Paquetá for West Ham’s first goal, allowing Moyes to use him there once more. Mohammed Kudus or Danny Ings are further candidates to start in the center. Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson, two defenders who did not travel to Germany, are also questionable.
Newcastle vs. West Ham Head-to-Head
Newcastle has a good history at the London Stadium, but they have always struggled there. The Magpies have recorded four victory in six Premier League contests at West Ham’s current stadium (one draw, one loss), which is the same number of triumphs they had recorded in their previous 14 excursions to their former home (three draws, seven losses).
The Toon Army has recently enjoyed their trips to the capital. In their seven Premier League games played in London last season, they went undefeated, winning four and drawing three.
They did lose 2-0 to Manchester United in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium in February, and in eight consecutive Premier League journeys to London, they have never gone undefeated.
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