Newcastle v Everton Preview and Betting Tip – DS
Newcastle v Everton Preview
This week, instead of focusing on the top of the Premier League table we’ll look at a match involving teams at the opposite end. Newcastle v Everton kicks off at 19.45 on Tuesday and both sides are desperate for three points. Eddie Howe got the chequebook out in January and it’ll be fascinating to see if the new additions have the desired impact. Frank Lampard is now in the Everton hotseat and he too has brought a couple of interesting players to the club. Who’ll come out on top? Find out in our big match preview.
Newcastle
In our half-term report Newcastle were awarded an ‘E’ grade. Their season so far has been a bitter disappointment. They are currently second from bottom in the table with just 15 points from 21 games. Burnley are two points behind but they have two games in hand. The Toon Army aren’t in ‘must win’ territory just yet but if they lose this and other results go against them, they could be bottom come Thursday night.
Their new Saudi owners made a number of signings in the window. Trippier and Wood were added early on and in the closing days they secured the services of Dan Burn from Brighton, Matt Targett from Villa and the most expensive purchase, £50 million pound man, Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon. Overall, Newcastle splurged over £110 million on their new players, will they add enough to keep them up?
Chris Wood is hardly the glamour signing that Newcastle fans dreamt about when the new owners came in. However, he is well versed in the art of fighting relegation and he could prove to be the shrewdest addition. Trippier, Burn and Targett should strengthen their defence and Guimaraes did well in Lyon with France. If he can adapt quickly to the rigours of EPL football, he’ll be a big asset. If not, there may not be a happy ending for his new club at the end of the season.
Everton
The class clowns of the Premier League lived up to their reputation during the transfer window. Sitting in 16th, just 4 points clear of the drop zone and in real danger of falling into a relegation dogfight, they hired Frank Lampard. Not only is he unproven at winning things, he is unproven in this sort of firefighting environment and it is a massively risky appointment given The Toffees’ precarious position in the table.
Everton also got rid of Lucas Digne during the window and they brought in Mykolenko, Van De Beek (loan), El Ghazi (loan) and perhaps most strangely of all, Dele Alli on a permanent deal from Spurs. Van De Beek hasn’t looked up to Premier League standard on his rare outings for Man Utd so it’ll be interesting to see if he can make an impact when given more game time. Dele Alli has been rubbish ever since he was given a huge contract at Spurs. He has loads of talent, he just doesn’t work hard enough. Is he the type of character you want for a battle against the drop?
However, even without Alli and Van De Beek, there should be enough ability in this squad to keep Everton up. Richarlison is a quality footballer and he is always capable of scoring and creating goals. Anthony Gordon has also emerged and he looks like a proper talent. Lewin can cause any defence problems if they can keep him fit. It is their defence I’d worry most about. They have conceded on average 1.75 goals per game this season and I’m not sure Lampard is the man to sort that out.
Newcastle v Everton Possible Lineups
Newcastle: Dubravka, Trippier, Burn, Lascelles, Targett, Shelvey, Guimaraes, Joelinton, St Maximin, Fraser, Wood.
Everton: Pickford, Mina, Keane, Holgate, Coleman, Mykolenko, Allan, Van De Beek, Gordon, Alli, Richarlison.
Newcastle v Everton Betting Tip
Both these sides are missing probable starters with injuries. Newcastle’s most important absentee is Callum Wilson. Everton will need to plan without Godfrey and Doucoure, though Calvert Lewin should be fit to at least take a place on the bench. It should be an interesting clash of styles. Lampard played with three centre backs in his first game, a 4-1 FA Cup win vs Brentford, so he is unlikely to change much, apart from starting his two new signings. Howe will most likely stick to a 4-3-3 formation, but there is a chance he too could go with three centre backs.
Tough To Call
This is a tough match to call from a betting perspective. With so many new signings on show, it is hard to predict how good either side will be. For me, Newcastle’s additions are more suited to the situation they find themselves in. Alli and Van De Beek are hardly going to add the steel that Everton have been lacking. While they are undoubtedly talented footballers, they don’t exactly give the impression that they’ll be willing to go into the trenches if, and when, the going gets tough.
Newcastle haven’t won that many Premier League home games, but they haven’t lost many either. Since Howe took over, they have played 6 at St James’ Park and they have a W1 D4 L1 record. This will be Lampard’s first match in the league but so far this season, Everton have a record of W1 D3 L6 on the road. They have lost 6 of their last 8 away matches. Neither team is solid defensively so I am recommending a bet on Newcastle to win and both teams to score at odds of 5.3 on the Betfair Exchange.
