West Ham face Newcastle United this afternoon in what promises to be an entertaining fixture.
Newcastle salvaged a 3-3 draw in their last home fixture against Manchester United whilst the Hammers have more of a license to thrill with Dimitri Payet returning to the first team in top form.
West Ham were impressive against Bournemouth as their second half display helped to turn around a 1 goal deficit into a convincing 1-3 win.
Last time the two sides met, Payet was the star again as the Frenchman bagged two against the Magpies. The Hammers will be hoping for a similar display this afternoon as the team look quite short in attack due to the injury sustained by Andy Carroll last weekend.
Bilic will probably opt for Jelavic up top and hope that he can bring the likes of Valencia, Payet and Antonio into the game through his hold up play. The back four is set to stay the same due to their excellent form whilst Kouyate is still injured so Obiang and Noble will start in the deeper midfield roles. Victor Moses is also set for a place on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Bilic spoke of the threat Newcastle carry despite their league position:
“They [Newcastle] had a slow start but now they are doing okay,” Bilic told the press. “They are a massive club, they are improving, they have a very good roster of players. Going forward they have many options, they are very dangerous.
“They had a good comeback against Man United so they are on a high. It should be a good game, at a great stadium so we are really looking forward to it.”
Steve McClaren is set to start his two new midfielders in Jonjo Shelvey and Henri Saivet whilst the likes of Mitrovic and Perez certainly offer an attacking threat. The Newcastle boss commented on his two new signings ahead of today’s fixture:
“Both players are in the squad (against West Ham) and both have a chance (of starting).”
The Hammers could make it four league wins on the bounce with a victory today and move into the top four depending on the Tottenham result. Bilic’s side are currently on an unbeaten run in the league spanning eight games.
Predicted line ups:
