Newcastle United are full of confidence right now, and Chris Sutton believes it will lead to the Magpies picking up a fourth straight win at West Ham’s expense.
Eddie Howe takes his side to the London Stadium on Wednesday night, where a win for Newcastle will further strengthen our bid to qualify for the Champions League.
The Magpies moved up to third on Sunday thanks to the 2-0 win over Manchester United, but West Ham should prove to be a much tougher test.
The reverse fixture at St James’ Park was a draw, with Newcastle picking up a point during a tough period for the team. Declan Rice was outstanding on that day, like he always seems to be against us.
A draw was a fair result last time, but now Sutton expects Howe’s side to come out on top.
Chris Sutton thinks Newcastle will win away to West Ham
As part of his latest BBC Sport predictions, Sutton has tipped Newcastle to win on their travels and beat West Ham 1-0.
“It is so tight at the bottom that one win makes a massive difference – look at West Ham, who were second bottom before they beat Southampton on Sunday,” he wrote.
“If the Hammers had lost, then there’s a good chance David Moyes would have been sacked but they just about got over the line.
“Newcastle are a much better team than the Saints are, though, and I am really impressed with the way they are playing at the moment.
“The fact they can bring Callum Wilson off the bench shows the quality of their squad and having him and Alexander Isak fighting for their place up front is bringing the best out of them.
“I can see this being a tight affair but will West Ham score? I am going to say no, they won’t. I don’t see them taking the game to Newcastle, so there might be a few grumbles from the home fans if they do lose this one.”
Newcastle have momentum
As Sutton says, Newcastle are playing brilliantly at the moment. We have quality throughout the squad now, as we witnessed on Sunday when Eddie Howe nearly made a triple change. He was ready to bring on Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon and Joelinton, but that changed after Joe Willock broke the deadlock.
The Magpies have momentum and depth, but come up against a West Ham side that are much lower in the table than they should be.
They always give us a good game, and we have not actually beaten the Hammers since April 2021 when games were played behind closed doors.
Joe Willock scored the winner on that day, and hopefully he is fit to feature against West Ham on Wednesday night. He limped off against Manchester United and remains a doubt for the game in the capital.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
