West Ham United will clash heads with Newcastle United at St. James Park this Saturday afternoon as they look to secure maximum points on the road so that they can consolidate their position in the Premier League’s Top 4. The Hammers picked up an entertaining 3-2 win over Leicester City which should keep them in high spirits heading into this weekend.
David Moyes will probably set his side up in a 3-4-3 formation and could be forced to make one tweak to his starting XI for this game. Fabian Balbuena is expected to be named in the West Ham backline as Aaron Cresswell is unlikely to recover in time from his thigh injury.
3-4-3 West Ham United Predicted Lineup To Face Newcastle United
Defence
Łukasz Fabiański will function in goal for the Hammers after he conceded two goals versus the Foxes last weekend. The East London outfit will lineup with a back three of Fabian Balbuena, Issa Diop and Craig Dawson as they look to maintain a solid shape at the back and keep Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin quiet during the 90 minutes.
Midfield
Mark Noble is a significant concern ahead of this game because of an elbow injury. If the English veteran recovers in time, he will be a nailed-on starter in central midfield alongside Tomas Soucek. Both of them will have to dictate the tempo of the game so that they can make life difficult for the Magpies throughout the game.
Arthur Masuaku will continue to feature as the left wing-back while Vladimír Coufal fills in on the other side as the right wing-back. Moyes will give both of them the license to get forward and stretch the Newcastle defence by going in behind them out on the wide areas.
Ryan Fredericks and Ben Johnson will have to be content with a place on the bench as they offer cover for the wing-backs.
Attack
Jesse Lingard has been enjoying the form of his life of late, so we can expect to see him operate as the left-sided attacking midfielder. Jarrod Bowen will look to use his quickness from the right while Pablo Fornals plays as a false forward down the middle.
Moyes will be without Michail Antonio for this game but Said Benrahma should be available for a spot on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if required.
