What a win for West Ham in their last game! Having recorded back to back defeats the Hammers were really staring down the barrel of the gun when high-flying Chelsea, a side with one of the best away records in the league and who had just despatched reigning champs Man City came to call. Nothing in their previous games suggested West Ham would put together the kind of performance they managed on Wednesday night. I almost (not quite) feel sorry for their supporters. The Hammers have been fairly diabolical at home since their move to the Olympic Stadium and the one time they give their fans something to cheer about, there is nobody there!

Onwards to this afternoon's match and I see this is a big opportunity for the Hammers to inch closer to safety. All of the sides below them in the league with the exception of Villa have already played and have all lost and with Villa travelling to Liverpool later today, it seems the perfect opportunity for West Ham to put further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone but can they do it? Their recent struggles away from home suggest another gargantuan effort would be required against an inform Newcastle side.

Moyes has sacrificed style for substance in recent games by dropping a few of the flair players such as Yarmelenko and Anderson to the bench and instead trusting in guys with a proven Premier League record and a bit more of a work ethic. Despite the former coming off the bench to score the winner on Wednesday, I would expect West Ham to stick with the likes of Bowen and Antonio here today as they look to string a couple of results together.

I am sure that Moyes will be setting up to ensure West Ham are as tight as possible at the back. They've conceded twice in each of their 3 games back so far albeit against sides with greater attacking quality than they will face today and in general, they have one of the worst defensive records in the league. While coming away from this match with a clean sheet wouldn't get the same fanfare as a win against Chelsea it would be equally satisfying for the team and their manager. Declan Rice is by far and away West Ham's best player at the moment and his role in shielding a fragile-looking back-four will be crucial if the visitors are to take at least a point from this fixture.

Further up the field, Michael Antonio was brilliant against Chelsea in midweek, bullying the 2 centre-backs, holding the ball up and allowing his side to get out of defence and of course getting on the score sheet himself. Centre-forward is not his ideal role but Antonio is showing the kind of drive and commitment that Moyes will be demanding from all his players during the run-in. Expect him to go head to head with Lascelles and Fernandez again today with the winner of that battle having a large say in the outcome of this match.

Speaking of physical presences upfront, what odds on Andy Carrol returning to haunt his old side in this game? Well seeing as you ask they are 4.33 for him to score anytime. The big man has managed just 16 appearances for his hometown club this year and 12 of those have come from the bench. While he hasn't scored yet this season he has had a hand in 5 goals during that time meaning that his assists per 90mins record is better than that of Kevin De Bruyne! It's unlikely he'll start this match but again, expect him to be a factor in the last 20mins or so particularly against a West Ham defence that looks pretty shakey at times.

Elsewhere, Newcastle's excellent run of form since lockdown ended has largely been based on the performances of Allan Saint-Maximin who over the last few games has added an end product to his mazy runs and Jojo Shelvey who remains one of the most underrated midfielders in the league given his immense array of passing. Even a couple of Newcastle's high profile signings in the form of Joelinton and Almirón who have struggled to adapt to the Premier League have begun to score - perhaps South Americans find the Newcastle weather more to their liking in June than they did in January!

One important factor to consider in this match is that Newcastle are playing their 5th match in 14days and Steve Bruce has already conceded that he is likely to need to rotate the squad from his ideal starting 11 this afternoon. Had they have been a little fresher then I might have backed Newcastle for the win in this one but instead, I'm going to be a little more conservative.

The odds on this game show that the bookies are struggling to pick a winner. A draw might be a good bet but these 2 sides don't traditionally like playing out stalemates with the last one coming back in 2013. It's also worth remembering that while West Ham may appear a revitalised side following their midweek win, they have lost their previous 7 away games and as hard as they may try, I think they'll struggle to keep a clean sheet today which makes back to back wins unlikely. Result wise, a double chance on Newcastle to win or draw at better than evens (1.54) looks to be good value for money. West Ham will also know that they are likely to need to score from this game to get anything from it so I'm also backing BTTS.

Prediction: BTTS @1.89 or better

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