Everton will be on the road this weekend travelling to Tyneside to face Newcastle United. The Toffees have steadied the ship slightly since the three consecutive losses against Wolves, Manchester City and Watford.
Since then, Marko Silva has made a couple of adjustments to his lineup and tactics with his side winning 3-0 against Cardiff City and then putting up a commendable show against Liverpool last weekend.
Everton are 10th in the league table, but Silva has to aim higher than this, and despite Newcastle United’s strong run of form recently, the away side will fancy nicking a win.
EVERTON TEAM NEWS
Silva does not have much to worry on the injury front. Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka are the only ones who have been ruled out of the fixture.
PREDICTED EVERTON LINEUP VS NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1)
DEFENCE
Jordan Pickford will start in goal. All eyes were on him last weekend after his costly error in the first Merseyside derby of the season, but the keeper gave a good account of himself and will be buoyed by the outcome.
Seamus Coleman was impressive against the Reds and will retain his place while Lucas Digne will start at left-back. He has cemented the position with Baines entering his final phase in an Everton shirt.
Two clean sheets in the last two games mean there is unlikely to be any tinkering with the central defensive pairing of Michael Keane and Kurt Zouma.
MIDFIELD
Idrissa Gueye is a no-brainer in one of the two slots in the double pivot. His tenacity and quality make him one of the most important cogs in Silva’s machinery.
He is likely to be partnered once again by Morgan Schneiderlin who has been preferred over Andre Gomes in recent weeks. And two cleans sheets since that change might dissuade Silva from changing things too much.
ATTACK
Richarlison is likely to come back into the team. He will take up the left flank with Bernard expected to move to the right flank.
Gylfi Sigurdsson remains the chief creative outlet, and he will start in the hole behind the striker.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave a good account of himself in the last game with respect to work rate and effort. But he will aim for a more productive outing in front of goal on Saturday.
