Miserable West Ham record Newcastle United must extend

In their final game of 2023, West Ham United went to the Emirates Stadium and emerged with a 2-0 victory over an Arsenal side boasting Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.

Fast forward 11 months and the Hammers head to St James' Park to face Newcastle United on Monday having won away from home just three times since. Their trip to Tyneside will be their 18th on the road in 2024 in all competitions, but life away from the London Stadium has not been enjoyable under first David Moyes and now Julen Lopetegui.

By contrast, Eddie Howe's Magpies boast an excellent home record, with just two defeats in front of their own fans in 2024 - with only Manchester City in January and, more recently, Brighton leaving Tyneside with three points.

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West Ham have only won away once all season, a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace on the second game of the season, although the Eagles have failed to meet last season's high standards under Oliver Glasner. The Hammers' only two wins on the road in the second half of last season came at struggling Everton (3-1) and Wolves (2-1).

However, that does not mean Howe will take anything for granted on Monday night. He will be well aware of the Hammers' dangermen in the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio, although Mohammed Kudus is suspended after his indiscretions against Tottenham.

"It’s true that on paper this is a tough challenge," Lopetegui said ahead of the game. "For one, it is on a Monday, in a tough environment, but I don’t want to make excuses. We have to be ready to play on any day of the week, and I think this is a good opportunity to show how competitive we can be.

"We know things are going to get busy now at the end of November and going into December, and it is a key time because we have a lot of matches in quick succession, but we are working hard all the time and we are confident we have the quality to get the results we are after."