Our betting expert expects a tough outing for both sides. West Ham, however, are desperate for points and could cause an upset at St James’ Park.
Best bets for Newcastle United vs West Ham
- BTTS - Yes at odds of 1.44 on bet365
- Double chance - West Ham/Draw at odds of 1.70 on bet365
- Anytime goalscorer - Tomas Soucek at odds of 5.00 on bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Magpies’ leaky defence to open the door
Newcastle are exactly 10th in the offence table, scoring 50 goals in 36 matches. At home, they’ve been on a run of scoring at least once in the last six games at St James’ Park. However, they’ve also shipped at least one goal in each of the last eight such fixtures.
Those numbers will encourage West Ham. They’ve blanked in their previous two Premier League outings, as well as in three consecutive away games. The Hammers average exactly one goal per away date, which should be enough to see them break through the home defence.
Only Wolves (33), Tottenham (31), and West Ham (30) have conceded more goals at home than Newcastle (29) this season. Consequently, we could very well see both nets bulge on Sunday afternoon. Furthermore, both teams have scored in 78% of the hosts’ league matches this term.
- Newcastle United vs West Ham Betting Tip 1: BTTS - Yes at odds of 1.44 on bet365
Another happy visit up north
Typically, the home side would be our go-to for the win in this fixture. However, considering what’s at stake for the visitors, they could shock the hosts on Sunday. Despite their two defeats on the bounce, West Ham have won two of their last five matches and drawn one. They won’t be too disheartened by last week’s loss to the Gunners given the quality of their performance.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have struggled to find consistency in the league this term. The Magpies have recently been on a five-game losing streak. However, they bounced back with a victory and a draw, which suggests they are harder to beat.
The last four head-to-heads have been evenly split, with two wins apiece. However, the most recent clash at this venue ended in a 2-0 away victory. While it could be much closer than that this time around, West Ham are good enough to avoid leaving with nothing.
- Newcastle United vs West Ham Betting Tip 2: Double chance - West Ham/Draw at odds of 1.70 on bet365
Backing a goal from midfield
West Ham’s skipper, Jarrod Bowen, has been the main man for goals this season. He’s netted eight goals in total, but his last arrived at the end of January. Our pick to burst through the Newcastle backline is Tomas Soucek.
He’s only netted five goals in the league this term, so he’s an outside selection to score. However, he scored against Newcastle in the reverse fixture, which West Ham won 3-1.
Soucek has now scored three goals in his last five appearances against Newcastle. It’s worth backing him to do it again.
- Newcastle United vs West Ham Betting Tip 3: Anytime goalscorer - Tomas Soucek at odds of 5.00 on bet365
Our analysis: Form of both teams
- Score prediction: Newcastle United 1-1 West Ham
- Goalscorers prediction: Newcastle United: Harvey Barnes; West Ham: Tomas Soucek
Newcastle fans are likely eager to bring a difficult season to a close. The Magpies failed to hit the heights of last term, probably because of their involvement in the Champions League. Eddie Howe’s men are 20 points worse off this term than they were at the same stage last season.
Hypothetically, if those points were added to their current tally, the Geordies would be third in the Premier League. However, the reality is that they’re 13th in the division and three points off mid-table. Their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest last week didn’t do them any favours. It seems more likely that they will finish the campaign in the bottom half of the table.
West Ham, meanwhile, are fighting for Premier League survival going into the final two matchdays. The Hammers were absolutely brilliant against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday, but they ultimately came up short. They thought they had snatched a late equaliser, but VAR disallowed it after ruling that David Raya had been impeded in the build-up.
Thankfully for the London club, Tottenham could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds on Monday night. As a result, the Hammers are still in with a shout of avoiding relegation. However, they can’t afford to lose at St James’ Park on Sunday.
From a neutral perspective, if the visitors can perform as they did last week, they could trouble the hosts. Additionally, with nothing left to play, Newcastle could already have one eye on their summer break.
Probable lineups for Newcastle United vs West Ham
Newcastle United expected lineup: Pope, Hall, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Tonali, Guimaraes, Barnes, Woltemade, Joelinton, Osula
West Ham expected lineup: Hermansen, Todibo, Mavropanos, Disasi, Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Fernandes, Diouf, Bowen, Summerville, Castellanos