Newcastle United will hope to continue their remarkable season in this evening’s Premier League clash against West Ham United at St James’ Park, with victory cementing the Magpies’ position in the top four of the table.
Having lost just once across the opening 20 league matches of the season, Eddie Howe’s side have stormed into the Champions League positions, boasting 39 points – three more than fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have also played an extra match.
With Newcastle having most recently beaten Southampton in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, setting up a tantalising final against Manchester United in three weeks’ time, the overwhelming optimism emanating from Tyneside could hardly be any greater at present.
With the Tynesiders succumbing to defeat only against Liverpool in the league this term, agonisingly conceding the decisive goal deep into stoppage time at Anfield, there will be a belief that three more points will be accumulated today against the 16th-placed Irons, with the prospect of Champions League football next season further enhanced.
In order to ensure that the stellar work continues, Howe must stick with homegrown talent Sean Longstaff in the centre of the park, with the 25-year-old having scored twice against the Saints in midweek.
Having risen through the youth ranks at Newcastle, Longstaff has made 122 appearances, scoring eight goals and supplying seven assists.
Making 27 outings across all competitions this term, and starting 16 times in the league, Longstaff has indeed cemented his importance to a flourishing Magpies team.
According to Sofascore, the Englishman has completed 80% of his passes and averaged 0.8 shots and 0.8 key passes per game, scoring one goal and registering two assists in the top flight.
The recipient of criticism from some of the St James’ Park faithful last year, the 25-year-old clearly has the faith of his manager, having been ever-present in the Premier League since October.
It was only this week that Chronicle Live writer Charlie Bennett waxed lyrical about Longstaff’s fine form, tweeting: “The bloke is a man reborn. Absolute machine in that first half.”
A progressive midfielder, Longstaff ranks among the top 17% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues for touches in the attacking box and the top 20% for progressive passes received over the past year, as per FBref. His transitional, forward-thinking approach will be vital in suffocating the Irons and maintaining a vice-like grip on proceedings for Newcastle.
As such, his inclusion in the starting line-up could prove to be a crucial cog to thread together the collective departments of the team, with his “superb” skill set – as lauded by Ross Gregory – keeping things ticking over and possibly compounding West Ham to further misery.
Howe might be tempted to give Longstaff a breather given the amount of football that he has played this season (he is their third most-used outfield player) and the busy schedule due to their Carabao Cup run, but the 25-year-old is simply playing too well to be left out today.
With Longstaff continuing to thrive in the midfield engine room, West Ham could well be vanquished at St James’ Park as Newcastle keep their excellent momentum going.
