Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has taken to his pre-match press conference to give a double fitness boost ahead of the Premier League clash with West Ham United.
The Magpies return to action at St James’ Park on Monday night against West Ham, and Eddie Howe will be going into the clash with confidence after a recent improvement in form.
Newcastle took all six points from their last two Premier League outings against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, but will now have to maintain their improved performances when the struggling Hammers visit.
Julen Lopetegui will feel extreme pressure to take a result away from his trip to Tyneside as the side have had a terrible start to their campaign, something that Newcastle must capitalise on.
In terms of the league table, as the last fixture of the game week, Newcastle will be able to see where their fate lies in terms of climbing into the European qualification spots and if results go their way, could even break into the top four with a victory over West Ham.
Newcastle are currently just one point behind Chelsea and Arsenal, so to stay close in competition for those important places inside the top six, the supporters and the club will hope for nothing short of all three points.
Not only will West Ham’s current plight be a big boost in Newcastle’s chance to continue their winning run, a double fitness boost has been revealed this morning with Howe taking to his pre-match press conference to deliver an important update on injuries.
The 46-year-old manager claims that both Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier will both be in with a chance of featuring on Monday night, but are not ready to start at this point.
On Wilson, Howe revealed:
“Callum is doing well,”
“We anticipate that he’s going to train with the group today. Whether he’s quite there for West Ham, there’s a chance he could be involved, but we need to get through the next few days in training first.”
On Trippier:
“Kieran is slightly closer than Callum, I’d say. He trained yesterday, and trained well and felt good. There were no ill effects, and he looked sharp, but that was his first day’s training, so again, we’re in a similar position that right at the end of the rehab, you’ve got to navigate the last few days well.”
Will Wilson and Trippier feature vs West Ham?
There is no doubt that Wilson and Trippier offer a wealth of experience and quality that will be invaluable to Newcastle in the run up to Christmas, as congested fixtures will require strong rotation for Howe.
Indeed, the Magpies did not qualify for European football this season so they will have the opportunity to capitalise on longer breaks between games than some of the teams they are competing with for a spot inside the top six.
However, there are plenty of Premier League fixtures to be played in the coming weeks, as well as an important EFL quarter-final clash with Brentford on the 18th of December, so the pair will definitely get game time when they are ready to be more involved.
With that being said, it is a huge boost to have Wilson and Trippier available in the coming weeks and will put Newcastle in a great position to compete to the best of their ability across competitions.
