Mark Lawrenson predicts West Ham United clash v Newcastle
Mark Lawrenson has backed West Ham United to return to winning ways in the Premier League against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
The BBC pundit has predicted that it will finish 2-0 to the Hammers, despite Eddie Howe turning things around recently.
Lawrenson was left questioning the injury to Kieran Trippier, which should haunt the away side defensively against the likes of Jarrod Bowen.
Writing in his BBC predictions column, Lawrenson backed the Irons to end Newcastle’s revival in the past few weeks.
“Newcastle’s mini-revival is up and running, and they have a little bit of breathing space above the bottom three after winning three games in a row,” he wrote.
“The way the Magpies beat Aston Villa last weekend wasn’t pretty, but it was the result that mattered for them.
“To get anything out of a trip to West Ham is probably going to involve even more defensive effort and looks a much harder task for Eddie Howe’s side, especially with Kieran Trippier out injured.
“The Hammers have been a bit up and down of late but they always seem to have at least one forward in form and firing. Jarrod Bowen is that player at the moment.”
Get it done.
This is a vital game for the Hammers, and there are no excuses not to be picking up three points at the London Stadium.
Newcastle have beaten the likes of Everton and Aston Villa recently, but they weren’t exactly convincing in those.
Spurs are in a real rut right now, and Manchester United can’t seem to put some consistency together, so this is where we must step up.
Three points when playing first in the Premier League is critical, and a big victory will send a warning to those rivals in this area.
David Moyes will accept nothing more than a win at home against a side battling relegation, we can’t afford for another afternoon such as that one against Leeds.
In other West Ham United news, David Sullivan is set to earn the Irons “tens of millions” in new 2022 windfall