Newcastle v West Ham: Mohamed Diame out to stop Senagalese strikers

Midfielder Mohamed Diame is hoping he can use his knowledge of Newcastle United's strike-force to help West Ham claim a scalp when the sides meet in the Barclays Premier League.
Diame, 25, wants to utilise his knowledge of Senegal team-mates Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse to help the Hammers pull off an away win on Tyneside.
"I know Demba and Papiss very well and I also know that they have scored a lot of goals,” Diame said. “We have to make sure we don't give them a lot of chances to score.
"They are different players, but they both work every day in front of the goal and are strikers who know how to score, so we have to try to restrict their chances."
Midfielder Diame has also spent time playing alongside Newcastle playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa. "I was in Clairefontaine with him so I know he is a very good player," he said. "He has had a lot of injuries, but he is a very good player so we have to be careful about him as well."

"Ben Arfa is a very good player so we have to be careful about him"
Mohamed Diame

Diame pinpointed the performance against Manchester City in the goalless draw at Upton Park last weekend as a yardstick for the challenge at St James' Park, where Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan return as former Newcastle team-mates.
"We are just going to go there and try to replicate the game we played against Manchester City," he said. "These are the games I enjoy and I am sure it will be the same for Andy and Kevin Nolan as well. It is going to be a good game and we are going to enjoy it and hopefully get the three points."
If West Ham are to win in the north-east, on-loan striker Carroll may have to find his scoring boots for the visitors.
Carroll, on a season-long loan at Upton Park from Liverpool, has yet to find the back of the net for West Ham, but manager Sam Allardyce has said the situation will only be worse if it is playing on the striker's mind.
"I don't think he is worried,” Allardyce, who is also returning to a former club, said. “I hope he's not because the more he is, the less likely he is to get that goal that he's looking for. I'm certainly not overly concerned.
"We'd all like him to get off the mark but, as every player will tell you, our main aim is to achieve results. If you're getting results and your main striker is scoring goals, then that's fantastic, but if they're not then as long as you're getting the results then that is the most important thing."

"We know Carroll and Nolan are coming here to score"
Davide Santon

Newcastle defender Davide Santon and his defensive colleagues are wary of what Carroll and Nolan will do.
"We have to stop them,” the Italian said. “We know they are coming here to score. However, we know we have a great defence here. We have a great team and we can stop them."
Santon is hoping a win will aid Newcastle’s hopes breaking into the top four, having finished fifth last season.
"Last year, we had a really big chance to get there,” he said. "We finished fifth in the end, but we have a very good team and have a good chance of getting there.
"We just have to get back into the winning mentality every game. We are in a great position to move forward."