WEST HAM took a flamethrower to the form book when they turned over Chelsea in midweek and now are targeting a big night on the Toon.
They face an in-form Newcastle side who've gone five league games without defeat and ran out convincing 4-1 winners at struggling Bournemouth in their last outing.
While that was impressive, it was outdone by Davie Moyes' bold Hammers who were 6-1 outsiders against the Champions League chasing Blues and snatched a last-minute winner to haul themselves three points clear of the drop zone.
That snapped a three-game losing run for the Hammers and provided a massive boost of self-belief for their survival fight with six games left.
Newcastle, safely sitting on 42 points, have no such worries and despite Steve Bruce proving an unpopular choice among the Magpies faithful when he was named Rafa Benitez's successor, the Geordie's first season in charge has to be marked a success.
How do the bookies view it?
There's nothing to separate the sides on the betting front, with both chalked up at 7-4 by Unibet. There hasn't been a stalemate in this fixture for the last 10 meetings stretching back to 2013, but that trend to end is 9-4 at Betfair for the draw.
Betting angles
Neither team are renowned for a glut of goals but both are coming off the back of high-scoring midweek encounters and five of the last six head-to-heads have gone over the 2.5 mark.
The most recent of those was this season's meeting at the London Stadium where Newcastle edged a five-goal thriller. Allan Saint-Maximin caused havoc to the Hammers that day and was the pick of the bunch against the Cherries, assisting three of Newcastle's four goals.
For another assist here, the in-form French flier is 11-4 at Unibet. Sticking withn this market, how about fellow attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron at 7-1. The Paraguayan – on target against Bournemouth – is a tireless worker and often at the heart of Newcastle's attacking threat.
Both teams like to strike quickly on the counter-attack and, with the pressure off Newcastle and West Ham still desperate for points, it should be a fairly open encounter. Both teams to score looks a sound option at 4-5 with Ladbrokes.
Part of the reason West Ham are stuck in trouble at the bottom is their dismal away record – Moyes' men have lost seven on the spin on the road. With Newcastle unbeaten at St James' in the league since New Year's Day, I'm backing the Magpies draw no bet at just shy of evens.
This English Premier League match between Newcastle United and West Ham will be played on Jul 5, 2020 and kick off at 14:15. Check below for our tipsters best Newcastle United vs West Ham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.