It is hard to see the form of either Sam Allardyce's West Ham United or suddenly resurgent Newcastle United holding out for the entirety of the season, but when these two sides meet at Upton Park on Saturday afternoon, it will be, for all intents and purposes, a top-six clash.
"Apart from Chelsea, we have the most difficult game to play on Saturday"
- Sam Allardyce
Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce spoke about the difficulty of facing Newcastle at present, with the Magpies having a great run of form: "Alan has got better results than we have had recently and he has turned the corner. He has fitted in a lot of new players. They gelled together, they have massive confidence back, which is always lacking in a team when they don’t get results," he said. Indeed, Allardyce said the fixtures is one of the hardest any team could play at the moment: "Apart from Chelsea, we have the most difficult game to play on Saturday because it’s six wins on a trot they have gained. Our cutting edge in the last two games has gone missing and that is one of the reasons we have stopped winning. We have to find that again.”
Allardyce, despite his side's positive start to the campaign - sixth after collecting 18 points in 12 games - knows that the Hammers must get back to winning ways after not tasting victory since the surprise 2-1 win over Manchester City at the end of October. Draws with Stoke City and Aston Villa were followed up with a 2-1 loss to Everton at the weekend, and West Ham will be hoping to get back to winning ways.
"I like Andy, I think he's a terrific striker, and I really enjoyed working with him"
- Alan Pardew
For Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, the mood could not be happier around St James' Park at present after his side's recent successes. Speaking ahead of the game, Pardew turned his attention towards ex-Newcastle man Andy Carroll, who has returned to peak fitness and could be a threat for Villa on Saturday. Pardew suggested that he would love to take the player back to Tyneside: "I like Andy, I think he’s a terrific striker. I think Andy would want to come back to Newcastle in the future and I hope he does return to his home town. He’s got that love here – and I really enjoyed working with him.” Any suggestion of a deal would be in the distant future, however, and the for the moment Pardew must focus on extending his side's run of wins.
What a run that is. Newcastle have managed to produce six wins in a row in all competitions, including five on the bounce in the Premier League - a feat not even matched by any side in the division. The recent resurgence has seen Newcastle move from 18th place in the table, to 5th, and despite the level of play their opponents have displayed this season, they will fancy their chances. Pardew's side come into the fixture after a 1-0 win over QPR last weekend.
West Ham and Allardyce will be without a number of players, as Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, Mark Noble and Alex Song are all sidelined with injuries. Winston Reid is also suspended, but West Ham will be boosted by the news that Stewart Downing and Cheikhou Kouyate will return to the fold after missing the loss to Everton.
Pardew could have some good news this week after the return to training of Cheick Tiote, Steven Taylor, Emmanuel Riviere and captain Fabricio Coloccini. Goalkeeper Tim Krul, however, is a doubt, while Roland Aarons will not return to action until next week.