£10 to £500 Ladder Challenge – Bet 1

Newcastle have looked mightily impressive in their last 2 league outings. Performances against Arsenal and Forest are perhaps more akin to what fans have been expecting from Eddie Howe’s side, and back-to-back wins over said opponents has put them right in the mix in the top half of the table.

A 3-1 win over Forest was evidence of this Newcastle side’s grit and determination. They may well have gone a goal down, but an xG of 1.70 and 17 shots total highlights their complete domination of a Forest side who were in great form at the time. Go back a week further, and Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Arsenal was about as clinical as you can get. They completely controlled the pace of that game, and Arsenal didn’t even register a single shot on target.

That win over Arsenal continued what is a good run of form at home for Newcastle. They’ve lost just once at St. James Park in all competitions this season, a narrow defeat to Brighton that arguably should’ve gone their way given their 60% possession, 21 shots, and 2.02 xG. Outside of that they’ve beaten the likes of Spurs, Chelsea, and Arsenal in various competitions, and took a point against City in September prior to their poor run of form.

With Eddie Howe’s side on the up, I struggle to see how West Ham get close to them here. The away side have really struggled to get anything going this season, and 11 games in, I’m yet to see any sort of identity to this Lopetegui side. No doubt there’s talent in this squad, but West Ham sit 14th in the league table, with 3 wins and 5 losses to this point.

New signings are yet to gel with existing and core members of the squad, and the absence of Mohammed Kudus will only make life more difficult for the Hammers. They’ve conceded 19 goals to this point, and with their only clean sheets coming against Everton and Palace, 2 of the 3 worst attacking sides in the league, I struggle to see how they keep a buoyant Newcastle at bay.

They come into this off having suffered back to back hammerings away from home, losing 3-0 to Forest, and 4-1 to Spurs. They’re inconsistent, poor on the road, and I think Newcastle will continue their strong run at home here.