Season › 2011-12 › News

Newcastle United vs Everton

Match Preview

With October out the way, Everton look to get their season back on the rails after five defeats in six with a potentially tricky trip to Newcastle United.

Alan Pardew's side are the surprise package of the Premier League so far as the occupants of third place going into this weekend's fixtures, having avoided defeat in their opening 10 matches. They're 12 points better off than the Blues, albeit having played one game more, and are riding a wave of confidence that should make them a tough proposition for an Everton side short on goals and self belief.

Indeed, while the Blues have shared their meagre tally of 10 for the campaign around eight players, Demba Ba, a player once strongly linked with a move to Goodison, has scored eight by himself for the Magpies.

Newcastle's success is being attributed to a hard work ethic and team spirit, characteristics that were at the heart of Everton's success under David Moyes prior to the last couple of seasons, but there's no question that what moves Pardew has been able to make in the transfer market are a lot more than his counterpart who was forced to make a number of changes to his team last weekend against Manchester United because of injury and suspension.

Those selection problems should ease considerably by the time Moyes comes to name his starting line-up, though. Royston Drenthe is eligible again after serving a one-match ban and injured trio Phil Neville, Tim Cahill and Sylvai Distin all have a decent chance of being fit. Marouane Fellaini is suspended, though, after picking up his fifth booking of the season in the defeat to United.

Given how anemic Everton were in attack against United, Drenthe could be the key man if Moyes decides to play him from the start. The Dutchman scored one and created the other two goals at Fulham a fortnight ago and though his dismissal in the cup against Chelsea arguably contributed to the Blues' defeat, he was still a consistent threat going forward while he was on the pitch. Moyes hinted, however, that his selection in that tie may have been a mistake so it remains to be seen whether Drenthe will get to start.

Assuming Neville is past fit, he is the likely candidate to replace Fellaini in central midfield alongside Jack Rodwell, although John Heitinga can fill in there too, and Cahill is almost certain to make his return behind Louis Saha if the Australian is deemed to have recovered from the knock that limited his effectiveness against Chelsea and ruled him out of the United game.

Though Newcastle's form has been impressive over the first quarter of the season, it's fair to say that with the exception of Arsenal on the opening day and their last game at Stoke, they haven't really yet faced a major test. And while they will regard the visit of Everton as a winnable game, they might have one eye on a three-match run against the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea that starts on the 19th.

For the Blues, they enter a more manageable part of their fixture calendar where Moyes will be looking to pick up the points that will pull his side away from the relegation dogfight but his biggest problem will be finding a regular source of goals.

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