Newcastle are dealing with a mini crisis ahead of their trip to West Ham on Monday night but there’s been a late boost for Eddie Howe.
West Ham are looking to make it three Premier League wins in a row when Newcastle come to the London Stadium.
Eddie Howe’s side have been inconsistent and are under pressure to win in their bid to secure European football.
The Hammers have 15 million reasons to close the gap on the Magpies to eight points with 30 left to play for thereafter.
The Hammers go into the game with confidence after wins over Arsenal and Leicester.
Graham Potter has also been boosted by the return to training of Lucas Paqueta and Niclas Fullkrug this week.
It’s unclear whether either will be deemed fit enough to take their place in the West Ham squad to face Newcastle.
The Hammers have been encouraged about their chances of victory by news out of the Newcastle camp this week.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Things have been going from bad to worse for Howe with each passing day as they gear up to face West Ham.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Newcastle get mammoth boost ahead of Hammers
Star duo Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak rocked the Geordies last time out.
Gordon was sent off for pushing a Brighton defender in the face.
He was banned for three games after Newcastle opted not to appeal the dismissal.
In the same game red hot striker Isak went off injured, with Howe admitting he was concerned about the super Swede.
Things were to get even worse for the Geordies, though.
Brilliant young left-back Lewis Hall was ruled out for the rest of the season with a foot injury.
It then emerged that Dutch defender Sven Botman, a former West Ham target, now requires a knee operation which will end his season too.
Throw in the fact Kieran Trippier is out with a back injury and it’s no exaggeration to call it a mini crisis for Newcastle ahead of their trip to east London.
There is some good news for Howe, though.
Newcastle have been handed a mammoth boost to soften their quadruple blow ahead of the West Ham clash.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Isak back to soften Howe’s quadruple blow for West Ham clash
Another reason the Hammers might feel confident for the Newcastle game is the fact they play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final just six days later.
Given Newcastle have gone 70 years without winning a trophy, that game is unquestionably huge.
Potter will be hoping Newcastle’s players and Howe will have more than one eye on the final.
Players won’t want to get injured and miss that. Especially with the list of players out of that game growing by the day.
There was a sight for sore eyes for Newcastle – and just a sore sight for West Ham – when they trained in the sun on Thursday, though.
Because that man Isak was back in training.
In a gallery on the Newcastle website titled ‘Toon in training: Magpies head for the capital’, Isak is all smiles as he takes pride of place at the top.
Hammers bogeyman Callum Wilson – who has scored a ridiculous 12 goals against them during his career – features heavily too.
Of course Howe may elect not to risk Isak with the final looming.
His return to training suggests he may well be available and that will concern Potter.
West Ham won the reverse fixture 2-0 with Gordon and Isak playing.
But both missed a number of chances to make things comfortable for the Magpies before the Hammers got their goals.
If Isak plays West Ham will have a task on their hands to win.