Football : English : Premier League
Saturday 24th August - Kickoff 3:00pm
Newcastle United
Newcastle United were given a baptism of fire to the new season on Monday night. The Toon Army went to the Etihad Stadium and Manchester City ran riot in a 4-0 home win. This Saturday they host West Ham United and it goes without saying that they will want a much better result than Monday.Pardew wasn't happy with a bid for Cabaye ahead of Monday's game and it's uncertain if the talented Frenchman will feature on Saturday. Taylor is suspended after his red card so Williamson will likely partner Coloccini. Remy, R Taylor and Santon are also missing whilst Gutierrez has a potential hamstring injury which could rule him out.
Newcastle played a whole half with 10 men but conceding 20 attempts at goal is a concern and they only mustered 1 shot on target within the 90 minutes.
West Ham United
The Hammers beat newly promoted Cardiff 2-0 on Saturday in a convincing home win. Many expect West Ham to finish around midtable this season and a result at Newcastle could show some real intent on their half.Allardyce has been incredibly active this window bringing in Liverpool pair Carroll and Downing for £20m. Downing may play this weekend having come on in the win over Cardiff, Carroll however is injured and won't return until September. Other than the front man Allardyce has his whole squad to choose from for Saturday's game.
West Ham had 18 shots at goal last week giving up 12 to Cardiff. Interestingly West Ham had just 44% possession and I expect them to give it up again at the weekend. With pace on the break via Cole, Downing, Diame, Maiga and Jarvis the Hammers can cause serious damage at Newcastle so long as they are not chasing the game early.
Betting Verdict
West Ham won at St James' Park last season (0-1) with the game at Upton Park ending in a goalless draw. I feel West Ham are at their strongest now with the loss of Carroll an exception. Newcastle on the other hand have an out of form striker in Cisse, potentially their best midfielder missing (Cabaye) and casualties at the back. Plus West Ham won 2-0 and Newcastle lost 4-0 in the opening fixtures!I am going to back West Ham via the Asian Line as I really like them to take at least a point on Saturday. This looks an ideal time to be playing Newcastle and the Hammers have even had an extra 2 days to prepare for this one.
A backlash from Monday is the fear but knowing one of their best players Cabaye could be leaving can't improve the mood at the club. West Ham look strong and should leave with at least a point.
Good Luck
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