Everton vs Newcastle – News and Probable Lineups

The final all-Premier League fixture in the EFL Cup’s fourth round occurs at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday night, where Everton will host Newcastle United.

This match kicks off a quick sequence of games between the two teams, who will clash again in the Premier League just four days later at St James’ Park.

Match overview

After starting the new season with an impressive eight-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, Everton has faced consecutive defeats in the Premier League against Chelsea and Arsenal, with both losses ending in a 2-0 scoreline.

The Toffees fell to the current league champions at the Emirates last weekend, marking David Moyes’s 400th defeat across all competitions during his managerial career. Consequently, Everton has dropped into the lower half of the standings, trailing rivals Liverpool by five points, who sit in fourth.

Only three teams in the Premier League relegation zone have netted fewer goals than Everton (eight) thus far this season, and the Toffees are now keen to avoid going three consecutive matches without a goal for the first time since mid-December.

Despite expectations that Everton may not engage in a relegation battle this season, Moyes hopes his team can launch a serious challenge in domestic cup competitions – their last trophy was the FA Cup triumph in the 1994-95 season.

Moyes has seen himself eliminated from seven of his last ten EFL Cup ties as a manager against Premier League teams, yet he advanced in two of the three ties he has won in the fourth round, once in 2021-22 against Manchester City and again in 2023-24 facing Arsenal, both times while in charge of West Ham.

This term, Everton has progressed past Championship sides Preston (4-0 away) and Wolves (1-0 at home) to reach the EFL Cup fourth round, now aiming for just their second appearance in the quarter-finals in the last six years.

Pressure has begun to rise on new Newcastle manager Mattias Jaissle after three defeats in four matches, but his squad responded positively with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

Jaissle’s strategy to instill “more experience and leadership” in his team proved effective, allowing the Magpies to climb to eighth in the Premier League table, just two points adrift of the top five and critically five points clear of the relegation zone.

Next up is the EFL Cup as Newcastle aims to win the tournament for a second time in three seasons. Like Everton, they have already claimed victories against two Championship teams this term, commencing with a 3-2 home win over West Bromwich Albion followed by a narrow 1-0 away victory against Millwall in the previous round last month.

Since the 2022-23 season, Newcastle has enjoyed more EFL Cup victories than any other team (18), a reflection of their recent cup prowess given that their prior 18 wins in the competition were accrued over a span of 14 seasons from 2008-09 to 2021-22.

Even though the Magpies have won just one of their last six encounters against Everton (D2 L3), they have triumphed in their last seven EFL Cup fourth-round matches – their last exit at this stage was against Manchester City in 2013-14 – and they are seeking to reach the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive year.

Team News

Everton is expected to be without defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who remains sidelined due to a concussion, while Jack Grealish’s participation is uncertain as he also missed the last match due to illness.

Considering that Moyes is managing a limited squad, extensive changes are not anticipated; however, this midweek cup clash presents an opportunity to give some reserve players a chance to showcase their abilities in the first team.

Both Michael Keane and Ainsley Maitland-Niles could return to the defence, while Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, and Carlos Alcaraz are potential options in midfield. Tyler Dibling, who shone in the third round, may earn a starting spot in the attack.

Newcastle, on the other hand, will have Matias Fernandez-Pardo (illness) and Lewis Miley (knock) as doubts; meanwhile, Tino Livramento (knee) and Ewen Jaouen (thigh) continue to be unavailable due to injuries.

Jaissle intends to stick with the “same approach” and field a largely strong lineup, mirroring his choices in the prior two rounds, with Harvey Barnes and William Osula – both goalscorers from the weekend – contenders to retain their positions in the attack.

Nevertheless, players like Yoane Wissa, Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman, Anthony Elanga, and Jacob Ramsey – the latter having recently recovered from injury – are striving to be included in the starting XI.

Everton probable starting XI:

Pickford; Maitland-Niles, O’Brien, Keane, Mykolenko; Hackney, Armstrong; Dibling, Alcaraz, George; Barry

Newcastle United probable starting XI:

Hornicek; Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Gonzalez, Ramsey; Elanga, Wissa, Barnes; Osula

A tightly contested encounter seems likely on Merseyside, but Everton’s struggles in front of goal may favor a clinical Newcastle side, who have scored in 10 of their 11 games across all competitions this season.

Last November, the Magpies comfortably triumphed 4-1 away against the Toffees during their most recent Premier League encounter, and we anticipate a narrow victory for the Magpies to progress to the quarter-finals this week.