Everton vs Newcastle United
Date: 30/01/2021
Time: 12:30
Venue: Goodison Park
Referee: Stuart Attwell
TV: BT Sport
The Toffees host the Magpies at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, as Everton look to go sixth with a win.
Last time out Everton battled against Leicester City in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. James Rodriguez scored a wonder goal after just 30 minutes to give his side the lead. In the second half, Youri Tielemans cancelled out Rodriguez’s goal, scoring his fifth goal of the season past Pickford, who should have done a lot better with the save.
Newcastle continued their awful run of form, losing yet again in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds. Raphinha opened the scoring in the first half before Miguel Almiron gave the Magpies hope equalising after 58 minutes. Newcastle’s joy was short-lived as Leeds came immediately back at them, scoring in the 61 minute through Jack Harrison, who put his side back in front and sealed Leeds’ eighth win of the season.
Everton started the season in fine form and were top for five or six weeks at the beginning of the season. Since then the Toffee’s form has been up and down, winning big games against Chelsea and Arsenal but also losing to the likes of Newcastle back in November – the game ended 2-1.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side sit in seventh place, with two games in hand. If they win both, they’ll jump into fifth and only two points behind fourth place. With their current position in mind, Everton will regret throwing away easy points earlier on in the season and will be determined not the make the same mistake twice, against Newcastle.
Newcastle might not be in the relegation zone, but no Premier League side is in worse form than them. Their home form is as bad as their visiting record and not only have the Magpies lost five successive away league matches, but they’ve failed to score in each of the past four. The Magpies are also in desperate need of points, having taken just two points from nine league games. Their last point came against Fulham in a 1-1 draw, back in December.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in the complete opposite form of their opponents. The Toffees have lost just once in eight league matches, winning five of them. Their solid form has been based around their strong defence, as they have not conceded more than one goal in any of their past nine Premier League matches, letting in six goals in total. Ancelotti will be anticipating another clean sheet, which would be Everton’s fourth of the season.
The dangerman in this clash is non-other than Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Englishman scored 11 times in Everton’s opening 11 fixtures, helping Everton’s rampant form. But in recent weeks he is experiencing a goal-drought and has failed to score in six appearances. Calvert-Lewin will be confident this is the game to break his dry spell, as he has scored in each of his past four matches against Newcastle, netting an impressive five goals.
Steve Bruce is under significant pressure and his side needs to pick up their form soon. If they don’t, they could be joining the likes of Fulham and Sheffield United in a relegation scrap to stay in the Premier League.
Team News
Everton
Ancelotti will be pleased to welcome back Abdoulaye Doucoure, who was out of Wednesday’s draw with Leicester through suspension. The Toffees have no new injury concerns, but Allan, Fabian Delph, Niels Nkounkou and Jean-Philippe Gbamin remain out.
Newcastle United
Steve Bruce could hand Allan Saint-Maximin a long-awaited start, who featured as a substitute in successive games after a long absence due to Covid-19. Federico Fernandez will miss out again because of a muscle problem.
Fabian Schar is a doubt after he picked up a knock in the defeat against Leeds. This game may come too soon for Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett who are still fighting off injuries. DeAndre Yedlin has not been played in the past two matches because of a permit issue and could come back into contention.
Predicted Starting XIs
Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; Holgate, Keane, Mina, Digne; Doucouré, Davies, Sigurdsson; Rodríguez, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison
Newcastle United (4-4-2): Darlow; Yedlin, Lascelles, Schär, Lewis; Saint-Maximin, Hayden, Shelvey, Fraser; C Wilson, Joelinton
Score Prediction: Everton 2-1 Newcastle United
The Toffees have been in great form and will be hoping to finish quite high this year. Newcastle, on the other hand, are slipping further and further towards relegation and if they don’t improve soon their time in the Premier League could be up. I think it could be quite an open game, Ancelotti will certainly be hoping for goals, which could leave them open to the counter.
