Chris Sutton believes West Ham will lose to Newcastle at home this week in what he expects to be a “really good game.”
On 5 October, the pundit predicted that it would be “close” at the London Stadium on Sunday (8 October), but after Eddie Howe’s side defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, he has opted to go with the “hottest” squad.
Sutton predicts a 2-1 away win for the Magpies, but his opponent this week, YouTube personality KSI, predicts a goalless draw.
“My old mate Charlie Adam came on the Monday Night Club a few weeks ago, wondering whether Newcastle would get a point in their Champions League group, but they have already done a bit better than that,” Sutton added.
“Wednesday’s win over Paris St-Germain was a fantastic result, and Eddie Howe’s team is absolutely flying right now.”
“West Ham were another team in European action on Thursday, traveling to Freiburg, so we’ll see how they deal with that, but this has the makings of a really good game.”
“The Hammers have started the season well as well, sitting above Newcastle in the table, and this looks like it will be a close game… But I’m going with the team in top form.”
“These two teams are quite similar – defensively they are both decent and difficult to break down,” said KSI. Newcastle will most likely dominate possession, but West Ham will ignore it and sit deep to soak it up.
“Newcastle will try to find some inspiration from somewhere, but this could be another one without any goals.”
Heavyweight
Because it is hard to put Chelsea in a list of top teams based on their failures over the last year, West Ham has come up short in the most important games this season.
Back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool did not devastate the Hammers, but a win over Newcastle this weekend would be a statement of purpose.
Aside from the exciting Champions League game, their league play hasn’t been spectacular, and they presently lie in eighth place behind the Irons, but when an 8-0 result is considered in, as well as knocking Pep Guardiola out of the League Cup since their last defeat, they’ll be a formidable test.
If David Moyes chooses Nayef Aguerd, it will be helpful if he can avoid making a critical error this time, after the Moroccan was chastised by his manager for Julian Alvarez’s goal for City and then conceded a penalty at Anfield.
The defender scored the game-winning goal in Freiburg on Thursday night, which may have calmed him down, while Jarrod Bowen continues to improve and has now been recognized by Gareth Southgate with an England call-up.
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