West Ham United vs Newcastle United; Premier League
West Ham United vs Newcastle United. Premier League.
Upton ParkAttendance34,907.
West Ham v Newcastle preview: Steve McClaren looks for revenge over Slaven Bilic
Monday 14 September 2015 19:54, UK
Steve McClaren will be looking to avenge his last meeting with Slaven Bilic when Newcastle travel to West Ham on Monday Night Football.
Bilic was in charge of the Croatia side that won 3-2 at Wembley in 2007, ending McClaren's hopes of England qualifying for Euro 2008.
McClaren has yet to taste victory in the Premier League since moving to Newcastle, but the Magpies produced a spirited display with 10 men as they lost 1-0 to Arsenal, while they earned a point at Old Trafford a week earlier.
Meanwhile, it's been a hit-and-miss start for West Ham, as Bilic couldn't stop West Ham crashing out of the Europa League but guided the Hammers to their first win at Liverpool in over 50 years just before the international break.
They also registered an impressive win at Arsenal on the opening day, but two defeats in their first two home games will cause concern for the Croatian.
Team news
Mark Noble is available after his red card at Liverpool was overturned, while Slaven Bilic could hand debuts to a trio of deadline-day signings - Michail Antonio and Victor Moses are in contention, as is striker Nikica Jelavic - but Alex Song has an ankle problem.
Club-record signing Andy Carroll could make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury, with Mauro Zarate a doubt due to a hamstring issue and Enner Valencia (knee) and Joey O'Brien (calf) both absent.
Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic serves the first leg of a three-match ban after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin.
McClaren has no other fresh selection problems, although defender Paul Dummett has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Opta stats
The Magpies have picked up just two points from their last nine top-tier games on the road (D2 L7).
West Ham have enjoyed just one win in their last five Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D2 L2).
The Hammers have netted a total of just four goals in their last eight Premier League clashes with the Magpies.
West Ham have netted three or more goals in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since March 2011, when they did it three times in a row.
Managers Slaven Bilic and Steve McClaren have met before, in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, when Bilic's Croatia beat McClaren's England home and away. Croatia's 3-2 away win at Wembley in November 2007 ended McClaren's reign with the Three Lions.
The next player to make his Premier League debut for Newcastle United will be the 200th to play for the club in the competition.
Newcastle have been shown nine red cards since the start of last season in the Premier League, more than any other top-tier side.
Merson's prediction
If this game was at St James' Park, I would say West Ham straight away, but at Upton Park I'm not sure. They've played against two teams who you would expect to finish in the bottom half of the table at home and lost convincingly to both of them, and then gone and played two teams you'd expect to finish in the top five and won away.
This is a really weird game this one, Newcastle are heading in the right direction under Steve McClaren, even if the results haven't been great. I fancy West Ham here slightly, but it's going to be a difficult game.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 8/1)
Betting
West Ham are Sky Bet's 11/10 favourites with Newcastle 5/2 to leave Upton Park with a win and 13/5 to hold out for a draw. Nikica Jelavic and Diafra Sakho head the first goalscorer betting at 5/1 apiece, with the latter Price Boosted from 3/1 to 7/2 to net anytime in a home win, while Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez rated the visitors' biggest threats at 13/2 apiece.
Jamie Redknapp and the Soccer Saturday pundits have provided Sky Bet with their predictions for the clash, including both Charlie Nicholas and Matt Le Tissier both backing a 2-1 home win at 8/1.
Watch West Ham v Newcastle live on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm.