Eddie Howe takes his Newcastle United side to West Ham in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Having won three games on the spin, things are looking up for Newcastle, although things can change quickly. Indeed, Kieran Trippier and Javier Manquillo will be missing, leaving Howe with a defensive headache at right-back, although he has confirmed the latter’s ankle problem isn’t thought to be overly serious.
Elsewhere, Howe hinted that marquee man Bruno Guimaraes will continue to watch and learn from the sidelines given the impressive form of Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton in midfield.
In brighter news, Jamaal Lascelles returned to training earlier this week after missing the Aston Villa win through illness and could offer Howe the chance to deploy a three-man backline next to Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, with either Jacob Murphy or Ryan Fraser at right-wingback.
Matt Targett is expected to come back into the team too having missed last weekend’s win over at Villa due to the terms of his loan arrangement.
Newcastle United predicted XI (4-3-3): Dubravka, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett, Shelvey, Willock, Joelinton, Fraser, Wood, Saint-Maximin
Injured: Javier Manquillo, Kieran Trippier, Isaac Hayden, Federico Fernandez, Callum Wilson
Venue: London Stadium
Date and time: Saturday 19 February 2022, 12.30pm GMT
TV channel: BT Sport 1
Official: Chris Kavanagh
