The curtains are drawn on Gameweek 5 as West Ham United duke it out with Newcastle United at the Boelyn Ground. The Hammers pulled off a shock 3-0 victory at Anfield last time out, while the Magpies suffered a narrow 1-0 reverse to Arsenal, despite playing out most of the match with ten men following the dismissal of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
While the Hammers have beaten Arsenal and Liverpool in their own backyards by an aggregate of 5-0, no side has conceded more home goals (six), epitomising their topsy-turvy start to the campaign. Only Manchester City (10) chalked up more goals than Slaven Bilic’s men (nine) in the opening four Gameweeks, which is a product of their league-best 22.5% shot conversion rate.
The Toon are winless this season yet recent determined displays against the Gunners and Manchester United portend a brighter outlook in the coming Gameweeks. The chief problem the Tynesiders will need to rectify is a serious lack of goal threat, given that they rank bottom for attempts (21), shots inside the box (13) and on target (five). Tonight they will rely on the efforts of the recalled Papiss Cisse, with Mitrovic beginning his three-match ban.
