Newcastle United vs Everton. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance51,682.
Saturday 26 December 2015 18:47, UK
Papiss Cisse is a major doubt to face Everton on Boxing Day after the Newcastle striker picked up a groin injury against Aston Villa.
Cisse is awaiting a second opinion after undergoing a scan, and 19-year-old Ivan Toney has since been recalled from his loan spell at League One Barnsley.
The Magpies' 1-1 draw with Villa last Saturday stretched their unbeaten run to three games, but the visit of Everton marks the start of a difficult festive period as Steve McClaren's side then travel to West Brom and Arsenal.
Roberto Martinez is set to welcome back several first-team players over the next week, but the trip to Newcastle is likely to come too soon for captain Phil Jagielka and midfielder James McCarthy.
Amid takeover speculation, Everton will look to get back on track following their 3-2 home defeat by Leicester, and despite Romelu Lukaku's excellent run of form, the Toffees have not won in the Premier League since their 4-0 victory over Villa on November 21.
Team news
Cisse is unlikely to feature, but Jamaal Lascelles is back in training after a hamstring injury and is soon to be joined by fellow central defender Steven Taylor (also hamstring), Rolando Aarons and Emmanuel Riviere (both foot).
Tim Krul (knee ligaments), defenders Mike Williamson (hamstring) and Massadio Haidara (knee cartilage) and Gabriel Obertan (hamstring) remain on the sidelines.
Steven Pienaar, Bryan Oviedo, Jagielka and McCarthy are all set to return for Everton at some point over the festive period, although they may not be ready for the trip to St James' Park.
McCarthy (hip) has missed the last four games, Jagielka (knee) and Oviedo (hamstring) have been out for two months while Pienaar (hamstring) has only played one match in the last year.
Steven Naismith should be fit after recovering from a knock to his ankle.
Opta stats
Newcastle have won 12 Premier League home games against Everton - only against Aston Villa (14) have they won more at St James' Park.
Everton have won five and lost just one of their last seven league meetings with Newcastle (W5 D1 L1).
Lukaku has had a hand in nine goals in six league appearances against the Magpies (five goals, four assists).
Cisse has scored in all three of his top flight appearances on Boxing Day (2012 v Man Utd, 2013 v Stoke, 2014 v Man Utd).
Newcastle have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the league this season (12).
Lukaku is the first Everton player to score in eight successive matches in all competitions since Dave Hickson between January and March 1954 - the last player to score in nine successive games for the Toffees was Dixie Dean in October 1927.
Ross Barkley has scored or assisted 12 goals in 17 top flight appearances this season (six goals, six assists). Before 2015-16 he had a hand in 10 goals (eight goals, two assists) in 76 league games.
Merson's prediction
Everton let in goals, and they throw points away left, right and centre so this should be an exciting game.
Newcastle couldn't afford to lose to Villa, and that draw keeps Villa out of the way. It wasn't the worst result considering the wins they got over Tottenham and Liverpool. If you looked at it as a package, seven points out of nine, McClaren would have taken that.
It's hard to back Everton at the moment because even when they play well, like against Norwich, they end up drawing. I expect Lukaku to score again on Boxing Day, but he has got a couple of hard games coming up. Everton make plenty of chances each game, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he got very close to Jamie Vardy's record.
I'm going with a draw, but if I had to pick a winner, I'd go Everton because if they play to their ability they'll win this game.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Everton are Sky Bet's 13/10 favourites for the victory with Newcastle 19/10 outsiders while the draw is a 5/2 chance. Lukaku is the 4/1 favourite to score first and 5/4 to net in an eighth successive game.
The Belgium striker is 20/1 to equal Vardy's record of scoring in 11 games in a row and 50/1 to break it. The Magpies have been pushed out to 11/8 to get relegated after collecting seven points from their last three games, while the Toffees have drifted out to 28/1 for a top-four finish following their four-match winless run.
