West Ham United face Newcastle United in six day’s time, and Ian Wright has just made our task of winning the game a whole lot harder.
The Premier League clash between Newcastle and West Ham at St James’ Park will be a vital one for Julen Lopetegui.
Newcastle have three key payers set to return to action – Anthony Gordon, Kieran Trippier and our arch nemesis Callum Wilson.
However, the Toon have been dealt some bad news, with Dan Burn suspended for the Hammers clash.
Eddie Howe’s men have been flying recently, and are now sitting just one point adrift of the Champions League places, so they will really fancy beating us.
Lopetegui desperately needs a big performance from his team, after a run of really poor showings.
The Spaniard has to find a way of getting a tune out of his summer signings, but it must be said, a trip to St James’ Park is the last thing he would have fancied.
And I believe the Toon have just been given extra motivation to beat us, or one of their players more specifically.
Ian Wright speaks out on West Ham and Newcastle stars
Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen both played for England against Ireland at Wembley on Sunday night.
The Hammers forward bagged his first ever goal for his country, and he shared his delight with reporters after the game.
If we are to have any chance of beating Newcastle on Monday night, we need Bowen on top form – he certainly has the attributes needed to hurt the hosts.
Ian Wright has opened up on how he believes Jarrod has that little bit of extra quality.
Wright was a pundit for ITV1 on Sunday, and made a comparison between Bowen and Gordon (November 17th, 19:06):
“[Anthony] Gordon and [Noni] Madueke are good running with it at pace, but Jarrod Bowen, there seems to be a bit more quality when he cuts inside, or finds himself in positions like where they found him [for his goal], on the edge of the box,” Wright said.
“The way he pulls off – this is something they’ve worked on, I believe. It’s brilliantly worked; the ball’s coming at pace, he’s kept it low, got his knee over it and finished it brilliantly.”
If West Ham’s task of beating Newcastle was already a difficult one, it may well be impossible now.
As nice as that was to hear, all Wright’s comments will do is put fire in Gordon’s belly ahead of the game.
The 23-year-old Magpies forward will be desperate to prove a point against the Hammers now, after Wright’s comments.
And that’s the last thing we need.
I actually rate Anthony Gordon really highly, and our defenders will have to be right on their games, if they are to keep him quiet up at St James’ Park.
I just feel like the Newcastle forward is going to have extra motivation now to produce a match-winning performance against West Ham after Ian Wright’s remarks.
Let’s hope that Bowen upstages his England teammate regardless.
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