A spaced out Premier League weekend concludes with the Monday Night Football which this week comes from Goodison Park as Everton host Newcastle United in a battle which sees Sam Allardyce’s current club face his former one.
Everton go into the game a place above their opponents in the league table but Newcastle will overtake the Toffees should they come out on top. In competitive terms there is little on this but a top half finish would represent a decent return to the Premier League for the Magpies.
Everton
It has been a real season of ups and downs at Goodison Park. It began disastrously with their early season form so bad that Ronald Koeman was soon axed and then Sam Allardyce came in and while he has guided the Toffees to safety and the top half of the table it is fair to say that all is still not rosy in the Everton garden.
Fans are uninspired to say the least in Allardyce’s tactics and at no point do you truly feel we’ve seen the best that this Everton squad can offer. Maybe now that there is nothing to play for they can free up and show the class that they have but I guess that will all depend on whether the handbrake is released or not.
Newcastle
For much of the campaign Newcastle were flirting with the relegation zone but four wins on the bounce have elevated them into the top half and they can enjoy the rest of their first season back in the top flight. A fifth successive win in a year when apart from the big boys nobody has really put a run of form together would be quite some achievement.
Newcastle had a big issue with finding the back of the net earlier in the campaign but goals are becoming a little easier in recent times. That is obviously a confidence thing but you get the feeling that they will go in search of goals in this match. They have no pressure on them so I expect Newcastle to get the ball down and look to play.
Team News
Everton are without the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and James McCarthy with their longer term injury issues and Mason Holgate is also missing with an ankle injury so it could be that the Toffees are unchanged here.
Christian Atsu has been ruled out with an injury so Newcastle could also be unchanged for this match although Islam Slimani will be looking to make his first start since arriving on loan in January.
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Betting
Newcastle head to Goodison Park in fine form but when you break it down, without trying to diminish their achievements at all, there are plenty of holes in the form. Their four wins have come against a truly pathetic Southampton side, a not much better Huddersfield team in a match they laboured in and two sides who had little to play for in Leicester and Arsenal.
Everton don’t have much more to play for in fairness but after the stuff with the survey to the fans combined with the way it ended for Allardyce at Newcastle I would imagine the former England boss will have his side bang up for this match.
This is Everton’s penultimate home match this season and by and large they’ve been good at home. Since sacking Koeman, only Man Utd and Man City have beaten Everton at Goodison while only Liverpool, Chelsea and West Brom have left with a point and the latter can be excused as it was the day McCarthy suffered his horrendous injury. The point is it takes a top side to get anything at Goodison. Newcastle are getting better but they’re not at that level. I’m with the Toffees on the Asian lines here.
Tips
WON – Back Everton (-0.25AH) to beat Newcastle for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with NetBet
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