Paul Merson has backed West Ham United to beat Newcastle United 2-0 on Saturday, as he told Sportskeeda.
The Sky pundit thinks Eddie Howe’s in-form side won’t be able to live with Hammers hitman, Michail Antonio upfront.
Newcastle come into this game having won three Premier League games on the bounce, whilst West Ham have had mixed results, including their 2-2 draw at Leicester City last time out.
A number of weeks ago, the Magpies confidence was well and truly shot, but as Howe gets more comfortable on the training pitch, added with January signings, things are starting to heat up for those at St James’ Park.
Despite the turn in form for the relegation-threatened side, Merson is still backing the Champions League-chasing team to do the business in front of their own supporters.
“Four weeks ago, this game wouldn’t have been much of a contest as Newcastle United were in a dreadful run of form,” said Merson.
“They’ve now won three games on the trot and climbed out of the relegation zone. That said, I still fancy West Ham to win as I don’t think Newcastle will be able to live with the threat posed by Michail Antonio upfront.
“Additionally, Kieran Trippier is a massive loss for them. He’s been a fantastic addition to the squad as well as the dressing room and has scored two massively important goals for Newcastle.
“The Magpies have been in good form, but this is a hard game for them.”
The foot injury sustained by Kieran Trippier doesn’t help matters and he will be a huge miss at the weekend.
The England international, who has scored back-to-back free-kicks since his January transfer, will probably be more missed because of his experience.
But that doesn’t mean that Newcastle aren’t riding a wave and they will fancy themselves against a West Ham team that have conceded seven goals in 2022.
Not only that, despite Merson bigging up Antonio, the £7 million man (Sky Sports) has only managed three Premier League goals in October.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
