Newcastle United return to St James’ Park on Saturday for a Premier League meeting with Everton in MD28.
Newcastle last played midweek and punched their ticket to the Champions League last 16 after a 3-2 home win over Qarabag secured a 9-3 aggregate victory, where they will face FC Barcelona twice in March.
The win over Qarabag continued a run of four wins in their last five matches in all competitions. However, their league form remains inconsistent, with four defeats in their last five Premier League
games leaving them 11th in the table, 12 points off sixth place and 11 points above relegation.
Eddie Howe faces ongoing injury concerns, with Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Lewis Miley and Emil Krafth all unavailable, while Jacob Ramsey is in doubt to play. Anthony Gordon could continue to play a central role for the Magpies, and Malick Thiaw should return after serving a European suspension.
Everton arrive ninth, one point above Newcastle — believe that — following consecutive league defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester United. David Moyes’ side have collected strong away results this season and won this very same matchup 1-0 last season.
Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk
On finding form at St. James’ Park…
“It is amazing to be back at home. We have to build our rhythm back at St. James’ Park.
“Tuesday was a result we definitely needed, and we want to get our home form back to its best.”
On Livramento, Ramsey and Miley’s fitness…
“I think Tino will be early March. He has done well, he has been training and running for a period of time. I think when he comes back, he will be in a good place.
“Jacob we hope will train today, so fingers crossed for tomorrow.
“We have to be careful with Lewis, he has had a couple of injections, we are looking at a couple of weeks for him, if we don’t get the management of this injury right, he could be out for the season.”
On the mood in the camp…
“I have seen a good response from everybody… there is a really good feeling between the players. The feeling is really high.
“The most important thing for us now is to look forward.”
On David Moyes’ Everton…
“It is a big game for us. Everton have done well on their travels – their away form has been good.
“David’s teams are always difficult to score against. Our attacking play has to be really good and our defensive mentality has to improve.”
Howay!
- Date: Saturday, February 29th
- Kick-off: 15:00 BST / 10:00 EST
- Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle (England)
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