Everton vs. Newcastle
Venue: Goodison Park
Kick off: 1:30PM
Newcastle United will be looking for their first Premier League victory since December 12 when they travel to top-four chasing Everton this afternoon.
The Magpies have lost their last five in England’s top flight to drop into 16th position in the table, while Everton currently occupy seventh, two points behind fourth-placed West Ham United as things stand.
Everton took the lead against Leicester City on Wednesday night courtesy of a first-half effort from James Rodriguez, but Youri Tielemans levelled the scores in the second period, and the points were ultimately shared at Goodison Park – a result that left the Toffees in seventh spot in the table.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are currently two points behind fourth-placed West Ham, although fifth-placed Liverpool and sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur lock horns on Thursday night and therefore the gap could have been extended by the time that the Merseyside outfit take to the field for this game.
Everton have won 10, drawn three and lost five of their 18 matches this term to sit seventh in the table, and they actually have games in hand over a lot of the teams around them, including two over eighth-placed Chelsea and ninth-placed Arsenal, while West Ham in fourth have also played 20 times in 2020-21.
Ancelotti’s team have only actually picked up 14 points from their nine league games at Goodison Park this season, recording just four victories; they have won six times on their travels, though, and their form at home could ultimately cost them the chance to claim a surprise Champions League spot.
Everton suffered a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in the reverse match back in November, but the Toffees have not lost at home to the Magpies in England’s top flight since September 2010.
Newcastle, meanwhile, will enter today’s clash off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United on Tuesday night, which made it five league losses in a row since holding Liverpool to a goalless draw on December 30.
Steve Bruce’s side have dropped into 16th position in the table due to their recent struggles and are now just six points clear of the bottom three, while 18th-placed Fulham have a game in hand over the Magpies.
Newcastle’s away form is a concern, picking up just eight points from 10 matches, while as mentioned, they have not beaten Everton at Goodison Park in the league since September 2010, when Hatem Ben Arfa scored the only goal of the contest.
The four-time English champions have not actually been victorious in the Premier League since overcoming West Bromwich Albion on December 12, while they have not claimed all three points on their travels since the end of November, which will not fill their supporters with too much confidence ahead of this game.
Everton possible XI: Pickford, Holgate, Mina, Keane, Digne, Doucoure, Davies, Iwobi, Rodriguez, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Newcastle possible XI: Darlow, Hayden, Lascelles, Schar, Lewis, Murphy, Shelvey, Hendrick, Almiron, Fraser, Wilson.
