Eddie Howe change is already paying off as Staveley sees likely Newcastle target - 5 things

Newcastle United have maintained their promising run under Eddie Howe following a 1-1 draw against high-flying West Ham at the London Stadium.

Craig Dawson headed West Ham in front from Aaron Cresswell's free-kick in the 32nd minute, but Joe Willock equalised just before half-time.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

If losing Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier was not already a huge blow, Newcastle also contested this game without another talismanic figure in Allan Saint-Maximin, who has also been key to the Magpies' recent turnaround.

The Frenchman suffered a calf injury in the win against Aston Villa, but it only came to light on the morning of the game after Eddie Howe kept his cards close to his chest at his pre-match press conference.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Newcastle had only won three of the 25 Premier League games in which Allan Saint-Maximin had not featured, drawing eight and losing the other 14.

Although Saint-Maximin was a miss - Newcastle did lack that bit of quality in the final third at times as they failed to repeatedly test goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from dangerous positions - the Magpies put in a confident display without the Frenchman.

Indeed, the manner in which the visitors moved the ball around in the opening stages would have been unimaginable not so long ago as Newcastle actually enjoyed having the lion's share of possession.

Crucially, too, when Newcastle went behind, Howe's side quickly drew level just 13 minutes later after showing similar spirit to get back into the game against Everton last week.

It was hard not to contrast the intensity and grittiness which Newcastle played with on Saturday to how the Magpies flagged in the corresponding fixture on the opening