Newcastle United vs Everton
Date: 28/12/2019
K/O: 15:00
Venue: St James’ Park
Referee: Lee Mason
Newcastle United play host to a rejuvenated Everton side on Saturday, with the visitors hoping to maintain the upturn in form since Marco Silva’s sacking. Carlo Ancelotti oversaw a win against a resilient Burnley side in his first game and will be asking his players to continue that momentum. Meanwhile, Newcastle have themselves to blame for defeat against Manchester United, and the Red Devils thrashed Steve Bruce’s side 4-1 after they made a series of costly errors.
A win for Everton would see the visitors overtake Newcastle on goal difference and possibly move to the periphery of the top half of the table, in tenth place. However, a first defeat under Ancelotti could mean dropping back to the fringes of the relegation zone, possibly as low as 17th place.
Victory for Newcastle United would only mean the possibility of moving up a single place in the Premier League table. Still, they could restore the ten-point gap to the relegation zone they had before losing at Old Trafford. Though back to back defeats for the first time since the opening two matches of the season would spell trouble and could see the Magpies gap to the drop cut to just four points.
Team News
Newcastle
Saturday’s hosts will be without a string of crucial first-team players and must adapt better than they managed on Boxing Day. Kieron Clark and Jamall Lascelles are unavailable in defence, while Ki Sung-Yeung and Matt Ritchie are also unavailable in midfield. To further compound the injury issues, Allan Saint-Maximin is out until January with a hamstring problem. Paul Dummett and Jetro Willems are expected to be fit to start the match, but there are some doubts they will be ready in time.
Everton
Meanwhile, Everton have sorely missed Jean-Philippe Gbamin since his summer arrival. However, he is due to return in January, so this could be their final game without the holding midfielder. Meanwhile, Jonjoe Kenny, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi and Andre Gomes are all side-lined. But Morgan Schneiderlin could be fit to start.
Predicted Starting XIs
Newcastle United (5-3-2): Dubravka; Yedlin, Schar, Fernandez, Lejeune, Willems; Hayden, Shelvey, Almiron; Carroll, Joelinton
Everton (5-2-3): Pickford; Sidibe, Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Baines; Davies, Sigurdsson; Kean, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison
Score Prediction: Newcastle 0-2 Everton
Ancelotti has more options at his disposal than Bruce, due to injuries, and with this fixture coming just two days after Boxing day that could come to fruition. Newcastle have not been particularly free-scoring this season, and without Allan Saint-Maximin’s influence, they may find it challenging to break Everton down. Meanwhile, the Toffees have enough firepower that they should be able to see off the Magpies and head into the New Year on a high.
