Newcastle at West Ham 9/12/2020 - Premier League Picks & Predictions

Two teams that finished at the bottom half of the league table last season will lock horns in the opener, when West Ham will play host to Newcastle. West Ham had to fight till the end of the season in order to avoid the relegation, while Newcastle finished just a few points above the Hammers.

West Ham are coming off a really bad season, in which they finished at the 16th spot of the league table with 39 points, just five above the relegation zone. This team is not lacking talent, but something else, as they have a lot of good players in their ranks. Last season they had a 6-9-4 record at home, scoring 30 goals and conceding 33 in the process. Their top scorer was Michail Antonio with 10 goals, scoring most of them after the restart, where he was sensational. The Hammers didn’t change many things in their roster so far.

Newcastle had a slightly better campaign last season, finishing at the 13th spot with 44 points. However, they showed a big weakness in scoring goals, as they scored just 38 and conceded 58 in the process. Newcastle did not have a good time on the road, winning just five of their 19 matches (5-11-3), scoring 18 goals and conceding 37. To put that into perspective, their top scorer was Shelvey, a midfielder who played 26 matches and scored 6 goals. Newcastle were slightly reinforced in the transfer window, bringing in Fraser and Wilson from Bournemouth.