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West Ham are playing 4-3-3. Toon are also playing 4-3-3. Goals galore?
The teams are walking out! Football is about to happen.
Early last season, when the takeover happened, I predicted that Newcastle would challenge for Champions League qualification this season. But you all scoffed. Needless to say, I had the last laugh.
“G’Day Luke!” emails Chris. “It’s a 5am kick off down here in Australia. Big call by Howe to drop Isak and play Wilson (who has an excellent record against West Ham) but it could be a wise one: rotation is critical for the run-in.
“Speaking of big decisions on strikers: remember when Andy Carroll was instructed to live at Kevin Nolan’s house, during their time at Newcastle? Oh, to be a fly on that particular wall!”
Enjoy it Chris. Get the coffee on.
Ed Aarons
The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, has praised the Premier League for its financial success and said it is being demonised by critics who claim it is damaging competition with Europe’s other leagues.
Ready, steady … Eddie!
“[Tonight] is a challenge for us. Mentally, physically, we have to be back at those levels [of the Man Utd win on the weekend] … it’s a totally different challenge.
“We just need to make sure we perform as we have done in recent weeks …”
Why has he made changes?
“Three games in six days. Joe [Willock] had a hamstring problem, so we’ve brought Joelinton back into the team … Wilson for Isak is a straight replacement.”
Aleksander Ceferin there, making some speech or other:
Insightful stuff there from Moyes anyway, on why it’s important to win games, and try to move up the table. I am learning all the time.
David Moyes speaks to Sky Sports and gets noticeably tetchy when the interviewer points out that things would have been extremely dire had they lost on Sunday.
“I’m pleased we did get the win … So I don’t need to answer that question, do I?” Moyes fires back. “Look, we want to get as high up the league as we can. But you have to win the games. Another win [on Sunday]. At this stage of the season, trying to win the games is really important. Picking up the points is really important. Home game tonight for us, sort of a game in hand we’ve had from earlier in the season …
“We’ll keep it going [the good home form]. Tonight’s the focus … We felt Antonio might be the right one tonight [instead of Danny Ings] … we’ve given Micky the gig.”
Over on the other channel, Rob Smyth has Barcelona v Real Madrid, El Clásico in the Copa del Rey semi-final, second leg. And it’s live …
“Champions League looks like Newcastle Utd, Man Utd and Brighton for 3rd and 4th,” emails John.
“You’d expect Man Utd to get it (because that’s just what they do) then between Newcastle and Brighton for 4th. Hard run coming up for Newcastle; some very winnable ones for Brighton this month and they’re in stunning form. I don’t dare dream of us (Newcastle) and Brighton getting Champs League, and Brighton are starting to seem remorseless - youd expect them to batter Spurs this weekend. Another three points tonight before the hard run really kicks in would be very welcome.
“Oh, and re. Lampard to Chelsea - they have 39 points already, should be safe from relegation ...”
Fire Tuchel, hire Potter, fire Potter, hire the guy who proved to be not very good before Tuchel. Yes – that makes perfect sense:
Teams
Michail Antonio returns to Moyes’s starting side, replacing Danny Ings in the only change from Sunday’s win over Southampton.
Callum Wilson starts in place of Alexander Isak for Newcastle, while Joelinton also returning to the starting XI.
West Ham: Fabianski; Kehrer, Aguerd, Zouma; Emerson, Rice, Soucek; Paqueta, Antonio, Benrahma. Substitutes: Areola, Cresswell, Coufal, Fornals, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna.
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Guimares, Longstaff, Joelinton, Murphy; Saint-Maximin, Wilson. Substitutes: Dubravaka, Lascelles, Gordon, Ritchie, Targett, Isak, Manquillo, Willock, Anderson.
The list of Premier League managerial casualties continues to grow with almost farcical regularity, but David Moyes remains unbowed at West Ham. Narrowly beating Southampton last weekend didn’t hurt; nor, of course, did the sterling job that Moyes did last season, when Champions League qualification remained a possibility deep into the second half of the campaign.
But that was then and this is now, and now isn’t looking so hot for West Ham, sitting as they do in 15th place but with a 27-point tally that is the equal of 18th-placed Bournemouth. (And 16th-placed Everton. And 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.)
Newcastle mosey down to London also level on points with a couple of rivals, although in the case of Eddie Howe’s men, it’s fourth-placed Tottenham and fifth-placed Manchester United, all three clubs on 50 points, 14 points shy of second-placed Manchester City. Toon’s miserly tally of 19 goals conceded, along with 41 scored, has them third on goal difference following the weekend win against United of the Manchester variety.
It’s going to be one hell of a dust-up for the Champions League qualifications spots so the Magpies would dearly love a win this evening. Much like the hosts, apart from the Champions League bit. Jacob Steinberg dubbed the Hammers’ win against Saints “a dreadful game, high on tension and low on quality”, so fingers crossed we get something a little more palatable tonight.
Kick-off: 8pm
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