‘It’s nice’ - Newcastle United react to Premier League change that impacts West Ham trip

It has been a hectic period for Newcastle as they head into their seventh game in the space of three weeks. Last time out, Howe’s side picked up a historic 4-1 Champions League win against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night at St James’ Park.

But they head into the trip to West Ham with a number of injury concerns. Joe Willock, Sven Botman and Harvey Barnes have been ruled out for the trip while Anthony Gordon is suspended and Callum Wilson and Joelinton face late fitness tests.

The Premier League match was initially due to take place on Saturday before it was moved due to West Ham playing away at Freiburg in the Europa League on Thursday night, where they won 2-1.

The date change benefits The Hammers but also Newcastle, as Howe touched on in his pre-match press conference.

“It’s nice having that extra day,” The Magpies boss said. “Whenever we’re told to play, we’ll play and we’ll get on with it. The busy schedule is a reward for all the hard work that we’ve given.

“But if we can, especially with the few injuries that we’ve got, recover the players as well as we can because we’ll need all the energy we have for this game because it’s going to be very difficult.”

Newcastle beat West Ham 5-1 at the London Stadium last season. But Howe believes David Moyes’ side will provide a tough test despite selling key player Declan Rice to Arsenal for £100million over the summer.

“They lost Declan Rice who was so important for them,” Howe added. “He was the heartbeat of the team and gave them real stability in the middle of the pitch but I think they’ve replaced him really well.

“It’s always a challenge when you get a big fee for a player what you do with that money. They’ve been very smart and the players who have come in have settled immediately.”

West Ham currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, a point ahead of Newcastle in eighth. But Howe’s side head into the match in fine form having won five of their last six matches in all competitions including each of their last three in the league without conceding.

Like Newcastle, West Ham lost back-to-back league matches against Manchester City and Liverpool but have otherwise made a good start to the season, winning 2-0 against Sheffield United last time out.

“They’ve done really well with some really tough fixtures so their start has been very impressive,” Howe continued. They’re an obvious threat from set-plays with James Ward-Prowse’s delivery and everything he brings.

“That’s why for us, it’s a case of refocusing and not being distracted or affected in any way by the performance on Wednesday. It’s going to be a mental challenge for us after it was from AC Milan to Sheffield United which the players dealt with really well.

“This is another test for us.”