West Ham United continue their 2020/21 Premier League season with a trip to Newcastle United on Saturday at 12.30pm.
The Hammers make their longest trip of the campaign to St James' Park - 284 miles - to face the Magpies, seeking to consolidate our place in the top four with a win in their 32nd of 38 Premier League matches.
David Moyes' men arrive on Tyneside looking for a third straight Premier League win, having defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City 3-2 in each of their previous two matches, and to extend their fine start to 2021. The Irons have collected 32 points from a possible 45 and won ten of their 15 top-flight games in this calendar year.
A win at 17th-place Newcastle would take West Ham above Leicester into third place, with the Foxes in Emirates FA Cup semi-final action against Southampton this weekend.
One reason to be optimistic is the Irons' superb record against teams in the bottom half of the table. West Ham are unbeaten in all 22 of their matches against bottom-half sides (bar Newcastle’s win on the opening day, when they started 14th in alphabetical order) in since David Moyes returned in December 2019, winning 14 and drawing eight.
Steve Bruce's Magpies have been in good form themselves, however, drawing 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur at home before winning 2-1 on the road at Burnley on Sunday. Those four points have lifted Newcastle six points clear of the relegation zone, with a game in hand on Fulham directly below them.
Following the passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on Friday at the age of 99, both sets of players will wear black armbands and a minute's silence will be held before kick-off.
With the country in national lockdown, Sunday's game will be played without supporters present. However, the game will be screened live in the UK by Sky Sports and across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
Team news
West Ham United will be without Declan Rice, who suffered a lateral knee ligament injury while on international duty with England in March.
Michail Antonio suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced during the first half of the recent 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers and has also been ruled out.
Angelo Ogbonna has returned to training after recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in an FA Cup defeat at Manchester United in February, while Andriy Yarmolenko is getting closer to a return following the knee injury he suffered in the same tie.
Darren Randolph (hip) and Manuel Lanzini (knock) both missed last Sunday's 3-2 home win over Leicester, while Aaron Cresswell is facing a race to be fit after suffering a hamstring injury in that game.
Newcastle United will be without captain and centre-back Jamaal Lascelles, who has been ruled out with a foot injury, while fellow defender Fabian Schar is also struggling with a knee problem
Scotland winger Ryan Fraser is likely to miss out with a groin injury, while midfielder Isaac Hayden is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
The opposition – Newcastle United
Newcastle United's challenging 2020/21 season looks like it will end with the club staying in the Premier League.
While the passionate Toon Army were expecting better from their squad, the immediate threat of relegation looks to have abated following a pair of encouraging performances and results against Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley, a run of one defeat in the last six matches and Fulham's recent run of defeats.
The returns from injury of important attackers Callum Wilson (pictured), Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin have seemingly given Newcastle a welcome boost at just the right time.
However, there will be demands for improvement next season, particularly as Newcastle finished the 2019/20 campaign in 13th place and were in the top half after wins over West Ham United and Burnley and a draw at Spurs in their opening four matches of the current season.
Since then, Steve Bruce's squad has won just six of their last 27 Premier League matches and lost to the likes of Sheffield United, newly promoted Leeds United (twice) and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Newcastle have not been above 15th in the table in 2021 and a run of five straight defeats in January saw them slip ever closer to the bottom three.
However, they are now likely only a win or two from securing their Premier League status for a fifth successive season, and West Ham will need to be at their best to prevent Bruce's men from securing one this weekend.
Previous meetings
West Ham United and Newcastle United meet in the Premier League for the 46th time on Saturday.
The Magpies have won 21 of the first 45 meetings, with 13 wins for West Ham and eleven draws.
Newcastle have outscored West Ham 73-54 in those 45 games, but the Hammers have kept more clean sheets than the Magpies, 15 to 14.
West Ham's biggest Premier League victories over Newcastle both came at St James' Park, 3-0 in October 1998 and December 2018, while Newcastle's biggest Premier League win over the Irons was a 5-0 success in January 2011.
Overall, the two clubs have met 136 times in all competitions, with Newcastle winning 56, West Ham winning 42 and 38 of the matches ending in draws.
West Ham's biggest ever win over Newcastle in any competition was the 8-1 First Division victory we achieved in April 1986.
By the numbers
4 The number of seasons future West Ham United striker Pop Robson finished as Newcastle United’s leading scorer in the space of five years between 1966-71.
5 Five different West Ham United players have scored hat-tricks against Newcastle United – Vivian Gibbins was the first on Christmas Eve 1927, followed by Tudor Martin September 1936, Geoff Hurst in December 1965, Trevor Brooking in April 1968 and Alvin Martin in April 1986. Tudor Martin’s treble came on his debut, Brooking’s was his only in Claret and Blue, while Alvin Martin’s was scored against three different goalkeepers!
186 West Ham United have scored 186 goals in their 136 competitive matches with Newcastle United. Geoff Hurst (pictured) leads the way individually with eight, followed by Jimmy Ruffell with seven and Vivian Gibbins and Vic Watson, with six each. The first of the 186 was scored by Danny Shea in an FA Cup third-round replay at St James’ Park in February 1909.
1923 Billy Brown was West Ham United’s first match-winner against Newcastle United, netting the only goal of the game as the newly-promoted Hammers defeated the Magpies 1-0 in the First Division at the Boleyn Ground on 6 October 1923.
1908 The first meeting between the two clubs was an FA Cup second-round tie played at St James’ Park on 1 February 1908. Then a Southern League club, West Ham United gave a good account of themselves in front of 47,000 fans, but the First Division side ran out 2-0 winners. The two clubs were drawn together again the following season, this time in the third round, and Newcastle United again ran out winners, 2-1 in a replay following a goalless draw at the Boleyn Ground.
3 Three men have managed both clubs – Glenn Roeder, Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew. The late Roeder, who sadly died earlier this year, captained Newcastle in the 1980s before coaching and then taking charge at West Ham in 2001. He managed the Magpies between 2006 and 2007. Allardyce took charge of Newcastle United 24 times between May 2007 and January 2008, before leading West Ham United for four seasons between 2011-15, winning promotion from the Championship in May 2012. Pardew had also led the Irons to promotion via the Play-Offs, in 2005, and an FA Cup final, before managing Newcastle to fifth in the Premier League in 2011/12.
18 Mark Noble has made more Premier League appearances for West Ham United against Newcastle United than any other player, with 18. The captain’s first meeting with the Magpies was on 23 September 2007 but ended in a 3-1 defeat at St James’ Park.
1958 West Ham United’s 1958 Second Division promotion-winning centre forward Vic Keeble finished as Newcastle United’s leading scorer in the First Division in 1955/56 with 26 goals in just 32 appearances. Essex-born Keeble joined the top-flight Magpies from Third Division South Colchester United in 1951 and scored 69 goals in 121 appearances. On moving to the Boleyn Ground, Keeble netted 51 times in just 84 games in Claret and Blue.
32 The following 32 players have played first-team football for both West Ham United and Newcastle United: Demba Ba, Craig Bellamy, Lee Bowyer, Franz Carr, Andy Carroll, Mohamed Diame, John Dowsey, Kieron Dyer, Abdoulaye Faye, Les Ferdinand, Dave Gardner, Paul Goddard, Marlon Harewood, Shaka Hislop, James Jackson, Vic Keeble, David Kelly, Matthew Kingsley, Paul Kitson, Robert Lee, James Loughlin, Kevin Nolan, Scott Parker, Stuart Pearce, Wayne Quinn, Pop Robson, Keith Robson, Harold Smith, Nolberto Solano, Pavel Srnicek, Isaac Tate and David Terrier.
Match officials
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistant Referees: Simon Beck and Adrian Holmes
Fourth Official: Darren England
VAR: Simon Hooper
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
Saturday's match referee will be Kevin Friend.
Born in Bristol but brought up and now based in Leicester, Friend celebrates his 50th birthday in July.
After working his way up through the Leicestershire Senior League and Midland Football Alliance, Friend joined the National List and then the Select Group of Premier League referees in 2009.
He has since taken charge of a host of high-profile matches, including the 2012 FA Community Shield, 2013 League Cup final and 2019 FA Cup final, all of which were held at Wembley Stadium.
Friend has refereed West Ham United on 22 occasions previously, with the first being the 5-0 Championship win over Plymouth Argyle at the Boleyn Ground in February 2005.
His first Premier League appointment involving the Hammers was a 0-0 home draw with Blackpool in November 2010.
Saturday's game will be the first West Ham versus Newcastle fixture he has refereed.
