Newcastle vs West Ham

November 10, 2012
By: John Hansen

Newcastle United remained in the top half of the standings as they won a point at Anfield, but the Magpies would not settle for another stalemate as they prepare to host West Ham. The Hammers sit one point above the Magpies, but they will have to show a considerable improvement on the road in order to get something from this game.

Newcastle continue to improve

Many believed the pressure of expectations following a fifth-place finish last season would get to Alan Pardew’s side this term, but even if their results in the new campaign have been far from impressive, the Magpies are keeping their performances at a very high level. Looking at team’s showings in first 10 Premier League rounds, we can safely say Newcastle should have at least few more points on the board, but the good thing is they are still just three points adrift of their top 4 rivals. Alan Pardew’s side have been showing a lot of improvement lately, as witnessed by their five-match unbeaten run, while home wins over Club Brugge and high-flying West Bromwich give them reason to believe the good home run will continue against West Ham. The hosts will be without several first team regulars in this match, but Alan Pardew has some pretty good replacements for the absentees.

Demba Ba returns to the side after recovering from injury, but Cheick Tiote and Fabricio Coloccini are both banned. James Perch is out, while Danny Simpson is doubtful.

West Ham struggle on the travels

Having had an experienced Premier League squad to begin with, West Ham were always going to be well prepared for this season, especially after they added the likes of Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, Diame, Collins and Carroll to their ranks. Some impressive showings at their Boleyn Ground saw the Hammers climb to the top half of the standings, but their performances on the road have left a lot to be desired. Despite only facing bottom table sides, Sam Allardyce’s men could pick up just four points from as many games, while being completely outplayed by Swansea and Wigan Athletic. With that in mind we cannot really expect West Ham to fare much better against in-form Newcastle, especially as their shaky defence will have their work cut out for them against Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.

James Collins and James Tomkins are both injury doubts, while Ricardo Vaz Te, Jack Collison and Matt Taylor are definitely out.

Verdict

Newcastle United are slowly rediscovering the form that served them so well last season and with Demba Ba back to the side, they have got to be considered favourites in this match. West Ham have been pretty poor on the road this season and Newcastle attack should prove too much for them.

Top pick: Home win   2.00 (1/1) @ SkyBet

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   1.67 (2/3) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Over 2.5 goals   1.80 (4/5) @ Stan James

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