West Ham (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & prediction

The first of three-straight away games as Newcastle United travel to West Ham in search of our fourth Premier League win on the spin.

We come into this on the back of one of our best displays of the season, where we absolutely battered Man Utd on Sunday in a 2-0 win at St James' Park. Aside from a few big misses, it was a practically faultless display and another major boost in our top-four pursuit.

West Ham are deep in a relegation battle, yet they themselves picked up a confidence-boosting win over the weekend and actually looked very decent in their 1-1 draw on Tyneside back in February. They didn't let us play that day and held their own, although we were without the brilliant Bruno Guimaraes in that one.

They have plenty of talent and can't be underestimated. However, I did see parts of their 1-0 win over Southampton on Sunday and sensed tension within the stadium and a nervousness about their play; two things we need to capitalise on tonight.

Win and we'll go three clear of Spurs with a game in hand, move seven ahead of Brighton (who won last night) and 10 above Liverpool, but Howe is determined not to get ahead of himself: "For me, the aim is to beat West Ham and see where we go after that. I haven't set a target because I don't think they help us. It's very much game by game and see where it takes us. It's going to be a really difficult game."

Team news

Howe will make a late call on Joe Willock, who went off on Sunday with a suspected hamstring issue, and Miguel Almiron (thigh) is set to miss out once again.

Emil Krafth (ACL) will be absent again and it remains to be seen if we'll rotate after we left the Man Utd win with a few 'tired bodies.'

For the Hammers, Moyes is expecting Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca to be the only player absent as he recovers from a knee problem.

Predicted line ups

(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Bruno, Joelinton – Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin.

This could be a physical game. Combine that with Joe Willock's hamstring scare and I think we might see the Brazilian replace Sunday's star man in midfield.

Willock could've done damage in this fixture and may yet be OK to start, but I doubt Howe will take any risks if it was a hamstring tweak and not cramp.

Elsewhere, it remains to be seen if the likes of Saint-Maximin and Isak can play two games in four days, yet both were key to Sunday's win and could terrorise Moyes' side on the break. Wilson has a great record against West Ham and scored on Sunday, however, so I wouldn't be shocked if he plays.

We also have Anthony Gordon and Elliot Anderson waiting in the wings, giving Howe some great options off the bench if ASM starts to fade.

Prediction

West Ham have talented players and could be boosted by Sunday's win, but we have a different level of momentum and will hopefully play with confidence and freedom following that mauling of Man Utd. I also feel the crowd will turn if we get a goal early, meaning a fast start could be massive.

We give so little away defensively, have Bruno back - who was sorely missed in our 1-1 draw in February - and are starting to click again in attack now Isak is fit and firing, so I'm going for a solid away win and Murphy to get on the scoresheet.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Newcastle

HWTL!