It’s been a woeful period of results for Newcastle United, with four consecutive defeats and eight losses in nine seeing the Magpies slip into the relegation zone in the Premier League.
The pressure upon the Tyneside giants is rising significantly and this weekend’s clash with West Ham sees them reach the halfway mark in the Premier League season, though they’re five points clear of the target they set themselves in their return to the top-flight.
With 15 points, Newcastle are short of the twenty point mark and where they hoped to be- especially with uncertainty remaining about the club with takeover talks behind the scenes continuing to rumble on but showing no signs of conclusion.
The busy Christmas period is therefore crucial to Newcastle as they look to turn things around but this weekend’s clash against a rejuvenated West Ham side could be far too difficult for them- particularly in the views of one respected pundit.
The BBC’s Mark Lawrenson feels that Newcastle’s losing run will extend to five games in this weekends clash, as he predicted a 2-0 victory for West Ham. Writing in his weekly predictions, he said:
“West Ham are another team that have turned the corner. They have to be a bit careful here, because Newcastle are on such a bad run – the Hammers cannot afford to think they can just turn up. But I can understand why they are confident, because David Moyes has got his mojo back.”
“Newcastle are trying to strengthen, starting by trying to take Kenedy on loan from Chelsea. He would be a good addition, but they still need a centre-forward – and quickly.”
