Despite the overarching cloud of a ten-point deduction this season, Everton are performing quite well. The side are currently sitting 18th in the Premier League table but have picked up three wins and one draw in their last five outings.
Another victory away at Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening gained some valuable ground for the Toffees on those above them in the table, with Luton Town’s defeat at home to Arsenal on Tuesday night meliorating Everton’s pursuit of safety.
However, another big task awaits Sean Dyche and his players as high-flying Newcastle United come to town, having beaten Manchester United 1-0 last time out, although the scoreline flattered to deceive the Red Devils.
Despite Everton’s win at the weekend, the manager could look to make a couple of changes to his starting lineup to prevent fatigue, with fixtures against Chelsea and Burnley on the near horizon.
Here is the side’s predicted lineup ahead of the Magpies’ visit to Goodison Park on Thursday night
1
GK – Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford has been the first name on Everton’s teamsheet since joining the club back in 2017 and unless he picks up an unprecedented injury, it’s highly unlikely that the goalkeeper will be dropped to the bench.
The England number one is in the top 11% of all goalkeepers in Europe’s top-five leagues for post-shot expected goals per shot on target which is a metric used to indicate how likely a keeper is to save a shot on goal and so there’s little chance Pickford isn’t given the nod for this match.
2
RB – Seamus Coleman
Seamus Coleman has yet to play a single minute for Everton this season, having picked up a knee ligament injury away at Leicester City in the previous campaign. However, the captain was on the bench for the Toffees’ defeat at home to Manchester United a fortnight ago and the team’s victory at the City Ground on Saturday.
Ashley Young has primarily been Dyche’s first choice at right-back, but with games coming thick and fast, the £55k-per-week earner will need to have some rest if he is to continue to feature regularly. Coleman will be champing at the bit to get back out on the grass and this could be the perfect opportunity to get some minutes under his belt.
3
CB – James Tarkowski
James Tarkowski was superb at the weekend and managed to make nine clearances, one interception and seven ball recoveries while also playing seven passes into the final third and winning 80% of his aerial duels.
The ex-Burnley defender has been the captain in Coleman’s absence which has certainly been deserved as he is Everton’s highest-rated performer this season with a 7.29 average, according to Sofascore. Tarkowski will likely keep his place in the starting lineup against Newcastle.
4
CB – Jarrad Branthwaite
Tarkowski was not alone in the heart of the defence in keeping Nottingham Forest out on Saturday. His defensive partner Jarrad Branthwaite was just as instrumental in preventing the ball from going past Pickford in goal and earned praise this season from the likes of Premier League legend Alan Shearer, who called him a “magnificent” defender.
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Branthwaite won 100% of his ground duels and 67% of his aerial duels and made six ball recoveries, six clearances and one interception. Dyche won’t want to upset the apple cart by dropping either of his resilient centre-backs.
5
LB – Vitaliy Mykolenko
Vitaliy Mykolenko has been a solid performer at left-back this season and was one of Everton’s best performers against Forest last week, earning a Sofascore rating of 7.1. The Ukrainian fullback also made nine defensive actions, two interceptions and seven ball recoveries, while winning 100% of his aerial duels.
Mykolenko has plenty of gas left in the tank to play once more in midweek and will likely keep his place in the starting eleven.
6
RM – Jack Harrison
Despite a solid defensive display at the City Ground, Jack Harrison was one of Everton’s worst performers. The Liverpool Echo handed the loanee a 6/10 rating, explaining that the winger “laboured for long periods” of the game. No Everton player received a lower score from the outlet.
Nevertheless, Harrison still recorded an assist for the winning goal to clinch a valuable three points, putting him top of Everton’s leaderboard for assists which may have let him live to fight another day in the lineup.
7
DM – Idrissa Gueye
It’s difficult to tell at times that Idrissa Gueye is 34 given the energy he brings in the middle of the park. The Senegal international was tremendous at the weekend, making eight ball recoveries and 11 defensive actions during the match. Additionally, Gueye played three balls into the final third and created one chance, showing a creative side to his game as well.
With Amadou Onana still being assessed ahead of kick-off, Gueye will potentially keep his spot in the team once more.
8
DM – James Garner
No player had a higher match rating than James Garner on Saturday evening with 7.6. The former Manchester United man was scintillating in the midfield, defensively and offensively, recording 12 defensive actions, 13 ball recoveries and three interceptions on top of playing nine passes into the final third.
Once called “superb” by Roy Keane during his loan spell with Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, Garner is finally starting to prove he was worth the £15.5m Everton paid for him last year and will likely start alongside Gueye in the midfield again.
9
LM – Dwight McNeil
Dwight McNeil was the man who earned all three points against Forest, with his second-half goal clawing Everton closer to safety. McNeil alone boasted one-third of his side’s total 0.67 xG during the game so perhaps it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he came up with the winner.
The winger has struggled in recent weeks but showed the fans why Dyche has been persistent with starting him on the left which will continue on Thursday night.
10
AM – Abdoulaye Doucoure
Having initially been brought to Everton as a deep-lying midfielder, Abdoulaye Doucoure has found his calling as a second striker behind the centre-forward. He is currently top of Everton’s goalscoring charts alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin with four goals apiece and is a goal threat in a team that are the joint-third-lowest scorers in the Premier League.
Doucoure must start if Everton are to get a result at home to Newcastle United.
11
ST – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The only other change Dyche could make to his starting lineup is bringing Dominic Calvert-Lewin back into the team ahead of Beto. The latter joined in the summer for £26m but has failed to score a single league goal thus far. Against Forest, he had three opportunities from an xG of 0.32 but failed to hit the target once.
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Calvert-Lewin was absent with a calf injury but Dyche has confirmed he is now “back in the thinking” to face the Magpies and will likely be thrown straight into the first eleven given he is Everton’s joint-top scorer this term.
Everton predicted XI vs Newcastle in full: GK – Pickford; RB – Coleman, CB – Tarkowski, CB – Branthwaite, LB – Mykolenko; RM – Harrison, DM – Gueye, DM – Garner, LM – McNeil; AM – Doucoure, ST – Calvert-Lewin.