The Sky Sports pundit lauded the Magpies’ “amazing” Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain in his Sportskeeda predictions (5 October), admitting he was “scared” prior to kick-off, and believes their trip to face the Hammers is the “bread and butter” they need to consolidate that win.
With the Irons traveling to Germany for the Europa League game against Freiburg a day later Merson has predicted a 2-1 away win for Eddie Howe’s side on Sunday (8 October).
Merson said: “Newcastle pull off an amazing result in the Champions League. They played it their way, put PSG under severe pressure, and got the crowd excited.
“I was scared they’d be overwhelmed by the occasions and play it like a European game. The tempo was unbelievable, and what we saw showed us that the Premier League is the best league in the world.
“West Ham aren’t going to make it very easy, but Newcastle do have an extra day to prepare and that will make a big difference.
“They need a big result to follow up on their victory against PSG. This is their bread and butter. They’ve got to get back into the top four, and I think they’ll win this game.”
Comedown
The Hammers picked up another win in Europe as well by beating Freiburg on Thursday night (5 October), and while it was a record-breaking win it probably didn’t match the occasion of the Magpie’s first Champions League victory in two decades.
Teams often experience a comedown after nights such as that when they return to domestic action so West Ham need to be ready to take full advantage.
Their victory over PSG demonstrated the quality the visitors at the weekend will have but some may be overlooking the fact that they come into the Premier League game a point and a place behind the Irons.
David Moyes saw his side return to winning ways against Sheffield United last weekend, and with the Carabao Cup and Europa Conference League victories either side will hope the memory of the losses to Manchester City and Liverpool is consigned to the past.
He will surely want at least a point from this one to avoid having to get some momentum restarted once again, and should be relatively confident of doing so.
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