Two teams in growing need of a victory meet at the London Stadium on Saturday when West Ham United host Newcastle United.
The Irons have slipped down to 10th in the Premier League table following a four-game winless streak, while the Magpies sit just one point and one place above the relegation zone having amassed nine points from their opening 10 games.
Match preview
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West Ham will no doubt view the visit of a struggling Newcastle side as an opportunity to get back to winning ways, but the same has been true of many of their matches recently.
For a team with designs on pushing for the top six, games against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton and Sheffield United all seem eminently winnable, but the Hammers have only picked up two points from the 12 available in that time - not to mention the 4-0 EFL Cup defeat to League One Oxford United which kicked off their five-game winless streak across all competitions.
Such a slump has undone much of the good work Manuel Pellegrini's side did during the opening weeks of the season, and with things so tight in the middle of the table they will know that a failure to end this winless run sooner rather than later could see them slide towards a relegation battle quickly.
Last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Sheffield United was another uninspiring display from the floundering Londoners, who have not won a single game since their memorable victory over Manchester United in September.
Newcastle can relate to that having also picked up their most recent win at the expense of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, since when they have fallen to a narrow but deserved defeat at Chelsea and drawn 1-1 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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The latter result will have been accompanied by a fair amount of frustration considering that they squandered a lead at home, but they at least held on to the point with 10 men despite being comfortably second best in the second half at St James' Park.
The difference in Newcastle's performances from the first half and second half of that game provided something of a microcosm of their season so far, with Steve Bruce's side suffering from the type of inconsistency which has seen them beat Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United but lose convincingly at Norwich City and Leicester City.
The victory over Spurs provided their only away points of the season so far, although in fairness to the Magpies their three outings on the road since then have come against members of the current top four.
A trip to the London Stadium against an out-of-form West Ham side looks a lot kinder than those on paper, and should Newcastle claim just their third win of the season then it would be enough to leave them only a point behind their hosts.
To do that they will likely need to vastly improve their attacking output, though, having scored a league-low six goals so far this season and failed to hit the back of the net more than once in any of their 11 games under Bruce across all competitions.
West Ham Premier League form: DWDLLD
West Ham form (all competitions): WLDLLD
Newcastle Premier League form: LDLWLD
Team News
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Andy Carroll is in a race against time to be fit for this reunion with the club he left during the summer after overstretching for a ball and straining his groin.
Even if the striker does pass his late fitness test he is unlikely to be handed a starting berth, though, with Dwight Gayle seemingly next in the pecking order should Bruce grow frustrated with Joelinton's lack of goals.
The Magpies could also do with Miguel Almiron - still without a league goal or assist for the club - making a more tangible impact in the final third and Allan Saint-Maximin finding a more consistent end product to his exciting runs.
Bruce will be forced into at least one change with Sean Longstaff suspended following his late red card against Wolves, and a couple of potential returns could result in a bigger turnover of personnel.
Fabian Schar missed out against Wolves due to a knee injury but could be ready to return for this one, while Florian Lejeune is working his way back to fitness and Matt Ritchie is closing in on his comeback after two months out.
West Ham also have some positive news on the injury front with Winston Reid coming through an under-23s game unscathed following his 19-month absence, although his first-team return is still a couple of weeks away.
Jack Wilshere will not be risked after suffering a minor groin problem, while Michail Antonio and Lukasz Fabianski remain sidelined.
Robert Snodgrass was handed a rare start last weekend and rewarded Pellegrini with the opening goal against Sheffield United, which could be enough for him to retain his spot for this one.
West Ham possible starting lineup:
Roberto; Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell; Rice; Yarmolenko, Noble, Snodgrass, Lanzini; Haller
Newcastle possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Clark, Willems; Almiron, Shelvey, M Longstaff, Saint-Maximin; Gayle
We say: West Ham 2-0 Newcastle
Newcastle's lack of goals is a real worry for the visitors and it immediately puts them at a disadvantage going into most matches. West Ham are not in the best form by any means, but this looks like a good fixture for them to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Barney Corkhill
