West Ham United vs. Newcastle United: 2023/24 Premier League gameweek 8 match preview

Eddie Howe takes his Newcastle side to the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon for an intriguing matchup against the team one place and one point above them in the league.

The Magpies are in search of a fifth consecutive win in all competitions, following positive results against Sheffield United (8-0), Manchester City (1-0), Burnley (2-0), and Paris Saint-Germain (4-1).

West Ham have won three in a row themselves, meanwhile, beating Lincoln City (2-1), Sheffield United (2-0), and SC Freiburg (2-1).

With both teams in good form domestically and in their respective continental competitions, the scene is set for an enthralling contest in East London ahead of the October international break.

Here's everything you need to know before kick-off, with the latest team news, a couple of predicted line-ups, travel and broadcast information, plus a predicted score.

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Team News

Newcastle United

Howe is without the in-form Anthony Gordon due to suspension after the winger collected his fifth yellow card of the season in last weekend's comfortable home win over Burnley.

Sven Botman remains absent due to a knee injury but is hoping to return for the Crystal Palace game in two weeks, with the same true of Joe Willock following his recent hamstring and achilles troubles.

Harvey Barnes remains out longer-term due to the toe injury he picked up in the win at Sheffield United, though Emil Krafth is now back in full training and could be in contention for a place on the bench.

Joelinton and Callum Wilson both failed late fitness tests ahead of the stunning victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and remain doubtful, though the extra few days of recuperation could see them making the squad.

West Ham United

Hammers manager David Moyes has far fewer concerns to contend with, though first-choice striker Michail Antonio is a major doubt with a groin injury and has been unable to train all week.

Backup full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell are ruled out with groin trouble and a hamstring issue, respectively, but otherwise the hosts have a clean bill of health.

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Predicted Lineups

Newcastle United (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Pope; Trippier, Lascelles (c), Schär, Burn; Longstaff, Guimarães, Anderson; Almirón, Wilson, Joelinton

Substitutes: Dúbravka; Livramento, Dummett, Targett, Hall; Tonali, Ritchie; Murphy, Isak

Howe's selection revolves around whether Joelinton and Wilson are fit to play from the start, as they will almost certainly come into the side if they are, replacing Gordon and Alexander Isak.

Elliot Anderson would be confident of regaining his place on the left side of midfield from Sandro Tonali in that scenario, but it would be a surprise to see any further changes from the head coach with the international break looming.

Should Joelinton and Wilson fail late fitness tests again, Tonali should retain his place with Anderson coming in on the left wing. Jacob Murphy would also come under consideration for this spot even though he tends to perform better on the right.

West Ham United (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Souček, Álvarez; Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Paquetá; Kudus

Substitutes: Fabiański; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna; Fornals, Benrahma; Antonio, Cornet, Ings

Antonio's fitness seems to be the only thing impacting Moyes' team selection, with West Ham having a very settled starting eleven in the Premier League otherwise.

Danny Ings and Mohammed Kudus will go head-to-head to replace the powerful forward if he isn't fit to start.

The Ghanian is more than capable of playing up front, but could also feature on the right wing should Moyes want to go with Jarrod Bowen as his lone striker, as he did in Thursday's win in Freiburg.

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Match Officials

Peter Bankes of Lancashire will take charge of this one. He had the whistle for our 1-1 draw at Wolves in August and the 1-1 stalemate with West Ham in January last season, so at least we were unbeaten under his watch.

He'll be supported by Nick Greenhalgh and Eddie Smart on the lines, with Michael Salisbury on fourth official duty. The thoroughly unlikeable Andy Madley is the VAR with assistance from Simon Long. No major cockups this week, eh lads?

Travel News

If you're planning on using the Metro to get anywhere for the match, you'll be happy to hear that there are no scheduled closures this weekend.

If you're in East London for the fixture, please be mindful that the Elizabeth Line is closed on Sunday between Paddington and Abbey Wood/Shenfield. There's also no overground service between Richmond and Stratford until midday.

Wider rail issues can be checked on the National Rail website.

Broadcast Information

The match isn't being televised in the UK and Ireland. The 2 p.m. BST timeslot is purely due to West Ham's involvement in the Europa League on Thursday night.

There's still plenty of coverage overseas, however, with the excellent LiveSoccerTV website having a full breakdown of international listings.

There's also no national radio or local hospital radio coverage available, though the game will be beamed out on BBC Radio Newcastle as usual.

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Relevant Statistics

This will be the 142nd competitive meeting between the Magpies and the Hammers, with Newcastle having won 41% and drawn 28% of matches to date. West Ham have come out victorious 31% of the time, with the full record as follows:

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
141	58	40	43	221	195

Last season, Howe's side won this fixture 5-1 thanks to braces from Joelinton and Wilson plus a solitary Isak goal. The game on Tyneside ended 1-1, with Wilson opening the scoring but seeing his effort cancelled out by Lucas Paquetá.

In terms of the London Stadium, the Magpies have won four and drawn one of their six visits to West Ham's "new" home.

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Predicted Score

We can't see beyond a 1-1 draw between two good teams here, which would be a very solid end to a superb run since the previous international break.