· March 6 2025, 19:30
**Newcastle United will look to put the disappointment of Sunday's FA Cup exit out of their minds by beating West Ham United at the London Stadium on Monday night in the 8pm kick-off live on Sky Sports.**
West Ham will be Newcastle's last Premier League opponents before they take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley and surely going into that game on the back of a win would be a massive confidence boost.
It would also be a massive mood booster for the Newcastle United fanbase who are finding things a bit difficult at the moment with cup exits, red cards and season-ending injuries to contend with.
West Ham have been resurgent under Graham Potter, though, and it definitely won't be an easy task for Newcastle.
Newcastle United take on West Ham United on Monday
Paul Merson sees a strong home win happening on Monday night
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Indeed, Paul Merson isn't giving the Magpies much hope for this one as he makes his prediction for [Sportskeeda](https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-paul-merson-predicts-manchester-united-vs-arsenal-premier-league-gw28-fixtures).
> "It's a hard game for Newcastle. They are only two points off a European place at the moment, but if the teams around them win like I expect, they will drift further away. Some big players like Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Lewis Hall are likely to miss out on this game with injuries and that's a massive blow for Newcastle."If it weren't for the cup final next week, I would have backed Newcastle. I think they will be cautious about more players picking up injuries and that might hurt them against West Ham.
>
> "**Prediction**: West Ham United 2-0 Newcastle United"
A defeat to West Ham would be devastating
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If Merson's prediction comes to pass there's no telling the psychological damage that could have on the team and the fans ahead of the biggest game of the season.
There's definitely a fear that the players will be going easy on Monday for fear of picking up injuries before the final, but we're still in the hunt for a Champions League spot and that's arguably a bigger and better thing to aim for right now.
As much as we'd all love to see Newcastle lift a trophy after so long without one, our chances of beating Liverpool are so slim - not non-existent, but slim - while we can still push for the Champions League which will bring in far more money than winning the Carabao Cup. And if it sounds like we're already making excuses for the 16th, it's because we are.