Newcastle United vs Everton

St James’ Park sets the stage for a high-stakes Premier League showdown between European hopefuls Newcastle United and relegation-battling Everton.

Despite trailing seventh-placed West Ham United 3-1 heading into the final 15 minutes of Saturday’s incredible encounter at St James’ Park, Newcastle United bounced back late to claim an outstanding 4-3 win, reducing the gap on David Moyes’ side to a single point. With a game in hand and nine rounds left, the Magpies’ European aspirations are alive and kicking after registering their first Premier League victory from a two-goal deficit since 2019. Back to home turf after winning two of their last three league outings (L1), Eddie Howe’s men have no margin for error against an Everton side they lost to 3-0 in December’s reverse fixture. It was one of the ten instances that have seen the Tyne outfit concede 3+ goals this league campaign, with only the bottom three doing so more often.

However, Everton’s form has dwindled since that thumping triumph, with Sean Dyche’s team heading into proceedings on a disastrous 12-game winless run in the Premier League (D5, L7), bookended by a morale-crushing 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth over the weekend. The Toffees have to thank Nottingham Forest’s point deduction for commencing this round outside the drop zone, yet a three-point lead on 18th-placed Luton doesn’t inspire much confidence. Leaving Goodison Park spells further trouble as the visitors haven’t won any of their last seven away league matches (D2, L6) since a 2-0 victory at second-from-bottom Burnley in mid-December. Ominously for Dyche’s troops, they’ve drawn a blank in four of those seven contests, netting precisely one goal per game in the other three.