Newcastle handed suspension boost as £35m West Ham star is ruled out of Toon trip

We may not have a game for almost two weeks, but a key West Ham player has already been ruled out of their trip to Tyneside a week on Saturday.

After picking up his 10th yellow card of the season in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at the London Stadium, tough-tackling midfielder Edson Alvarez is now facing a two-match ban.

His absence could mean former Newcastle United target Kalvin Phillips starts at St James' Park next weekend in a game that looks huge in the race for 7th.

West Ham currently sit 7th and four points above us in the Premier League table, but we have a game in hand and could move to within one point of David Moyes' hammers with a win.

With next weekend's game feeling like a massive one for Eddie Howe, the player's confidence and our hunt for European football, hopefully we can capitalise on Alvarez's absence.