Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that West Ham United will be subjected to their second successive defeat in the Premier League to Newcastle this weekend.
The Hammers endured a heavy 4-0 loss to Manchester City last Saturday and they will no doubt be gunning to put things right in this showdown at St James’ Park, but Merson reckons the Magpies will be able to edge the fixture 2-1 due to their “confidence”.
He says that striker Marko Arnautovic will kick up a fuss in January if the Irons are pulled into the relegation zone once again, singling him out as the club’s “shining light.”
“I thought West Ham had turned the corner, but every now and then they just get a nightmare game,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’ve been surprised where West Ham are, but they’re back in the relegation mix and if they lose at Newcastle it could be back to being a long season again.
“You could see Marko Arnautovic kicking up a stink in January if that happens, and they’re in trouble if that happens. He is the club at the moment, their shining light. I think Newcastle will edge it because of their confidence.”
OPINION
West Ham have the chance to get back to winning ways against Newcastle at the weekend, and they have the quality in order to achieve that – but Merson is right, Newcastle are the team who are higher on confidence at the moment. Nobody expected the Hammers to get a result against Manchester City last weekend, but then again, nobody would have expected them to lose in the way that they did. They are at risk of being dragged into the relegation dog-fight this season if they do not start recording convincing wins, and like Merson pointed out, Arnautovic will kick up a fuss if this happens. There is no doubt that he is too good for a team who could potentially be set for the drop – so West Ham must pull out all of the stops to ensure that this does not happen.
