It’s been an exhilarating week for English football – an expectedly dramatic third round of the FA Cup followed by a mesmerising batch of midweek thrillers in the Premier League – and the coming weekend looks set to maintain that theme.
Indeed, Manchester City face away day specialists Crystal Palace at the Etihad, fallen giants Chelsea take on top-scorers-of-the-bottom-half Everton and Manchester United will clash with Liverpool in Sunday’s installment of the ever-dramatic northwest derby.
So slipping under the radar somewhat is West Ham’s visit to Newcastle United, with kickoff at 3pm on Saturday. But these two sides are Premier League institutions who, for better or worse, always seem to entertain the neutrals.
Likewise, the Hammers and the Magpies have plenty to play for at the moment – the former a win away from escaping the relegation zone and the latter just a point off the Premier League’s top four – so we’re predicting a tight-knit encounter in front of a packed St. James’ Park.
With that in mind, the match could well depend on which side dominates the key individual battles. Here are FIVE Football Fancast view as the most important.
ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC VS WINSTON REID
Aleksandar Mitrovic is a temperamental character but also a fantastically hard worker, providing Newcastle United with a physical foothold in the final third despite often operating with exceptionally little service and support from midfield.
The Serbian international received just reward for his industriousness against Manchester United in midweek, scoring one from the spot and providing the assist for another in a rather epic 3-3 affair at St. James’ Park.
That will fill the 21-year-old with some much-needed confidence ahead of Saturday’s game, having scored just once in his last ten outings across all competitions before Tuesday night.
But West Ham’s centre-back cohort is one of the most formidable in the Premier League, filled with old-school defenders who protrude physicality and thuggish grit over eye-catching style.
Winston Reid looks set to come back into the starting Xi after being rested against Bournemouth in midweek and although Mitrovic will unquestionably enjoy the physical challenge the New Zealand skipper always provides, he might struggle to impact in the lone striker role.
ENNER VALENCIA VS FABRICIO COLOCCINI
With Andy Carroll and Mamadou Sakho both injured, Slaven Bilic faces a bit of a selection dilemma at the tip of West Ham’s attack. Nikita Jelavic replaced the former as he was subbed off with a hamstring injury against Bournemouth but my money’s on Enner Valencia starting up front on Saturday – after netting twice in the wide-right role on Tuesday night.
The Ecuador international hasn’t exactly set the world alight since moving to Upton Park after a string of impressive displays at the 2014 World Cup, mostly due to a string of injury problems. But he’s clearly a very talented player with power, strength and leap in equal measure and should relish the chance of impressing as a lone centre-forward.
Likewise, Fabricio Coloccini and Chancel Mbemba aren’t exactly the most convincing of centre-back partnerships – especially in the case of the former. Mbemba possesses the athleticism to nullify Valencia’s but if the West Ham striker manages to single Coloccini out, he’s got the pace to run beyond him and the leap to beat him in the air.
MOUSSA SISSOKO VS AARON CRESSWELL
Despite being primarily considered a centre-mid, powerhouse Moussa Sissoko has spent the majority of the season on the Magpies’ right wing, providing a decent if slightly unspectacular five assists in 20 appearances.
His presence allows adventurous full-back Daryl Janmaat to regularly overlap, so West Ham No.3 Aaron Cresswell will have to track both incredibly carefully on Saturday and make sure he’s not leaving too much space on the outside.
That being said, the Hammers defender is no stranger to adventuring forward either and blessed with a fantastic left foot that consistently produces lethal deliveries into the box from deep positions.
Sissoko has a knack of going missing when not facing heavyweight opponents so if he doesn’t close Cresswell down quick enough, Newcastle could be facing expert cross after expert cross.
Likewise, Janmaat must ensure he doesn’t get caught too high up the pitch. Although his marauding runs are important to the Magpies’ build-up play, Cresswell has the quality to take advantage of any gaps he leaves behind.
CHEIKHOU KOUYATE VS CHEICK TIOTE
Two midfield enforcers with similar-sounding names who both add much-needed physicality to their respective engine rooms.
Slaven Bilic has already hinted Cheikhou Kouyate will start after being rested for the 3-1 win over Bournemouth, whilst Cheick Tiote looks set to retain his place at the base of midfield with Vurnon Anita sidelined through injury.
As aforementioned, the power, strength and tenacity both midfielders bring to their respective sides is an incredibly important element, but their roles do differ somewhat.
Tiote likes to sit deep, hold position and break down attacks before simply moving the ball on. Although that’s a big part of Kouyate’s game as well, he also uses his power to break forward from time-to-time.
Jack Colback doesn’t have the natural physicality to stop the Belgium international, so Tiote will have to watch out for his runs from midfield. That being said, the Ivory Coast international has a much bigger fish to fry in attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet, which brings us rather nicely onto….
DIMITRI PAYET VS GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM
Although the four aforementioned battles are certainly important, it’s the contest between West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum that will likely have the biggest impact on Saturday’s result.
Both are talismanic entities and this season’s top scorers for their respective sides and both will most likely be fielded in the ever-glorified No.10 role this weekend.
The Netherlands international has bagged eight goals and two assists in 21 outings this term compared to his West Ham counterpart’s return of six strikes and four set ups in 13, but most would probably hail Payet’s influence a little above Wijnaldum’s due to the sheer quality he’s shown around the final third.
That being said, the vast majority of what Newcastle do going forward stems from their summer signing and he’s got a brilliant knack of arriving late in the box at the right time to find the net.
Of course, neither will be too concerned with stopping the other on Saturday – that will come down to their more defensively minded team-mates. But the result could well hinge on who has the biggest impact going forward.
