Mark Lawrenson believes that Newcastle will extend their extraordinary winning run to four matches with a victory over West Ham on Saturday.
Rafa Benitez’s side host the Hammers at St. James’ Park knowing that a win could move them seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Magpies have won their last three matches to haul themselves up to 13th in the table, and Lawrenson predicts that they can continue their fine form to open up a gap on the sides beneath them.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “When Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez puts a run of good results together, it is not for just two or three games – it seems to last a bit longer than that.
“The Magpies are currently unbeaten for four games and have won their past three, and I can see them getting three more points here.
“West Ham, meanwhile, have only won one of their past six matches. Flaky is probably a good way to describe them, although I don’t see them getting dragged down into the relegation battle.”
The ex-Liverpool man rounded off his comments by predicting that Newcastle will win 2-0.
OPINION
If this match had been played a month ago the prospect of a Newcastle win would have been resolutely disregarded. After taking just three points from their opening 10 matches, the Magpies have rallied impressively and taken nine from their last three. It has the feeling of a great escape made six months early, and Rafa Benitez will be hoping that his side can continue their unlikely revival on Saturday. One of Newcastle’s main issues, however, is that they fluctuate far too rapidly and can get stuck in ruts far too easily. The form guide suggests that Saturday could prove to be fruitful for them, but the worry will be that this burst of momentum has come too early in the season to last them the distance. If they begin to falter again, and don’t make some additions to the squad in January, they could easily be sucked back into a relegation battle, even if they are able to establish a seven point buffer this weekend.