Everton vs Newcastle preview: Marco Silva's side hoping to bounce back from Derby Day defeat
Matt Ritchie is out of Newcastle's Premier League trip to Everton
Wednesday 5 December 2018 08:54, UK
Everton will be looking to bounce straight back from defeat in the Merseyside derby when Newcastle are the visitors at Goodison Park on Wednesday.
Divock Origi sparked wild celebrations at Anfield on Sunday, heading the winner in the 96th minute after Jordan Pickford failed to deal with Virgil van Dijk's looping shot, but Marco Silva's team have an immediate chance to respond against Rafael Benitez's side.
Silva is expecting a similar test to their last match at home, when they ground out victory over Cardiff, saying: "It will be a really tough match.
"We play against a good side with a good manager. For sure they come with very good organisation and we have to be able to play with enough spirit and intensity to win the match, and with quality of course."
Meanwhile, Benitez insists it is business as usual at Newcastle despite owner Mike Ashley revealing that he hopes to sell the club within weeks.
Benitez will carry on with the task of attempting to keep his team in the top flight amid fresh uncertainty behind the scenes.
His team lost 3-0 at home to West Ham on Saturday, and he is desperate to address that at Goodison Park against a club which has enjoyed a luxury he has not of being able to invest heavily in recent seasons.
The Spaniard said: "You have a very clear situation in the Premier League in terms of teams at the top of the table spending a lot of money and teams at the bottom, some of who have spent money, trying to avoid relegation.
"Every game is difficult. Everton spent a lot of money and have some top players and a top manager. They did well in the derby at the weekend. It will be a tough game for us."
Team news
Marco Silva could make changes to the Everton side for Wednesday's Premier League clash with Newcastle at Goodison Park.
The match comes only three days after the Merseyside derby, and winger Ademola Lookman is pushing hard for a start, while forwards Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun could also come into contention.
Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is the main doubt because of a leg problem but the Frenchman has not been included in the last six matchday squads.
Matt Ritchie is out of Newcastle's Premier League trip to Everton on Wednesday evening through suspension.
The midfielder picked up his fifth booking of the campaign in Saturday's 3-0 home defeat by West Ham and must now serve a one-match ban.
Striker Yoshinori Muto (calf) is fit again, although keeper Karl Darlow (elbow) and full-back Paul Dummett (hamstring) are still out, although the latter is expected to return to training later this week. Central defender Florian Lejeune (knee ligaments) is also close to being involved once again.
Opta stats
- Everton have won eight of their last nine Premier League games against Newcastle (L1), including each of the last five in a row without conceding a single goal.
- Newcastle have won just one of their last 14 Premier League visits to Goodison Park to face Everton (D3 L10), winning 1-0 in September 2010 thanks to a Hatem Ben Arfa strike.
- Premier League meetings between Everton and Newcastle have seen more penalty goals than any other fixture in the competition (18).
- Everton have won their last four Premier League home games, netting nine goals and conceding just one in return.
- Everton are unbeaten in their last seven midweek matches in the Premier League (W4 D3), since losing 0-3 at Sunderland in May 2016.
- Newcastle haven't won a midweek Premier League match since December 2013 (5-1 vs Stoke), drawing eight and losing nine played on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday since.
- After beating Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor in their last away league outing, Newcastle will be looking for back-to-back away wins in the Premier League for only the second time under Rafael Benitez, last doing so in January 2018.
- Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has won 10 of this 16 Premier League games against Everton (D2 L4); only against West Ham (11) has he won more matches in the competition.
Merson's prediction
Everton were really good against Liverpool but the error from Jordan Pickford was an accident waiting to happen. It was only a matter of time before because he's got away with a few errors recently.
He's a good goalkeeper and a good shot stopper, but it's the concentration. There's got to be something wrong his concentration. Top, top goalkeepers don't do anything for 90 minutes but then they are called into action and just make a save. That's what separates the great goalkeepers from the good ones because they can all shot stop. I'm not sure what he was thinking and it's down to concentration levels. We saw it with England in Spain and we've seen on it on another couple of occasions but he's got away with it. He didn't get away with it at Liverpool and it's not because he's not a good goalkeeper, he just needs to work on his concentration.
Looking at the team though, I was really impressed with their performance at Anfield and I can see them having too much for Newcastle.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (6/1 with Sky Bet)
