Everton are the only remaining side
still unbeaten after five games, but they will be looking to put their
midweek Capital One Cup exit at the hands of Fulham to bed on Monday
evening when they host Newcastle United under the Goodison Park
floodlights.
Back-to-back wins over Chelsea and West
Ham United following three opening draws pushed the Merseyside club up
to sixth in the table, whilst the Magpies bounced back from a 2-3 defeat
on home soil against newly-promoted Hull City with a 2-0 victory over
Leeds United in the league cup – setting up a mouth-watering tie with
Manchester City in the next stage of the tournament.
Newcastle were one of the only teams to come away from the hosts’ ground
last season with something, drawing 2-2 thanks to a second-half Demba
Ba brace, and whilst Everton have kept six clean sheets in their last
seven top-flight home games (having not conceded for 580 minutes) and
only lost once in their last 24, a point this time around may again
prove to be a solid result – although Alan Pardew will be hoping for a
repeat of their impressive 1-2 away win against Aston Villa two games
ago.
Team News
Everton will be without Antolín Alcaraz
(hamstring) for the game, whilst Leon Osman (groin), Steven Pienaar
(unspecified) and Arouna Koné (knee) could all make the bench and Romelu
Lukaku is likely to make his home debut.
Newcastle will travel into the fixture
with Steven Taylor (hamstring), Massadio Haïdara (knee) and Ryan Taylor
(knee) all unavailable for selection, with Jonás Gutiérrez (hamstring)
set for a late fitness test and Yohan Cabaye ready to return after being
rested during the week.
Martínez vs Pardew: Possible Team Line-ups and Brief Tactical Analysis
Although Newcastle didn’t appear to be
obvious shoppers during the latest transfer window, the amount of
players that have returned to fitness during pre-season (41 significant
injuries over 54 games in 12/13) has given Pardew plenty of reasons to
be happy with his squad, and seven points from a possible 15 is a good
showing from his side early doors.
At present, Pardew has once again
adopted the 4-3-3 formation which served Newcastle well in the 11/12
year and it can easily revert to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-5-1 system when the
opposition have control of the ball.
Vurnon Anita is currently being used as
the ball winner in the heart of the three, intercepting play four times,
winning 100% (2/2) of his tackles and recovering possession eight times
against Hull last Saturday, whilst Cabaye drops deeper to partner him
at times, although the Frenchman is at his best when causing danger in
the attacking third – completing 80% (12/15) of his passes in that zone
during the same match.
Everton, who have had the best average
share of possession in the division so far with 59.4%, will want to
control the game with great purpose, but they will be wary of what
Cabaye can conjure up if allowed to enter their half freely, whilst
Moussa Sissoko’s runs at speed will also be something James McCarthy or
Darron Gibson will have to deal with alongside Gareth Barry.
McCarthy, 22, could make his first
Premier League start for the Toffees because not only is Osman injured,
but he has a calm presence when on the ball, with his pass accuracy with
Wigan Athletic last season standing at 87% overall, and that patience
he holds could be a virtue in this game as Newcastle will be happy to
allow Roberto Martínez’s men the ball and break on the counter when they
seize it from them, thus Everton must not rush into attack mode.
McCarthy and Barry can both do the
much-needed ugly work in midfield effectively and they will allow the
likes of Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley, in particular, to be given the
platform to roam into the opponents’ half fruitfully. However, Barkley,
who has completed the second most take-ons (33) in the Premier League
so far – just behind Hatem Ben Arfa (34) – will need to track back and
help press Cabaye and Ben Arfa in numbers, alongside trying to isolate
Anita or Cheick Tioté in 1-on-1 situations when driving forward.
Whilst Martínez is attempting to tweak
Everton’s philosophy and style on the pitch, the potent wide play that
has served them well for the last few years is something he simply had
to preserve and although both Mathieu Debuchy and Davide Santon like to
push forward, Pardew may ask them both to tuck in this time around and
block the recognisable threat coming from the likes of Seamus Coleman
and Leighton Baines – who are both experts at exploiting space through a
mix of under-lapping and overlapping in order to confuse their opposite
numbers.
But whilst Coleman and Baines both have
the pace and energy to take any winger down the line successfully,
Newcastle’s inverted wingers of Ben Arfa and Loïc Rémy will present a
tantalising challenge for Everton’s full-backs to ponder.
Everton: Key Men and Where the Game Could Be Won or Lost for Them
It may well be a household and
unsurprising shout to tip Baines to be the key man as Everton set about
plotting the downfall of another opponent, but that is purely a
testament to how special the full-back really is.
The England international joined a
unique chart after his stunning brace against West Ham last week, which
put him alongside Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and
Sebastian Larsson as only the fifth ever player to score two direct
free-kicks in a Premier League game.
Baines, who created the second most
chances in Europe last season (116) and has now scored 21 goals in the
Premier League, will naturally pinpoint exquisite crosses into
Newcastle’s box, but with Ben Arfa’s alarming trickery to deal with, the
28-year-old will need to be an all-rounder on Monday and could answer
his critics about whether he has what it takes defensively.
Ben Arfa has been the stand-out
performer for the Toon so far, scoring two goals, like Baines, and he
will always want to drift inside on his magic left-foot, causing Baines
to operate on his weaker right and he will need to be up to that
challenge – as Sylvain Distin will be reluctant to come over in support
due to both Papiss Cissé and Rémy’s eagerness to run in behind him.
Against West Ham, Baines not only scored
twice and completed 89% (40/45) of his passes but he also won 100%
(5/5) of his tackles and 66.6% of his aerial duels. Ben Arfa has only
created four chances, including assists, for Newcastle so far and Baines
will be aware that he won’t be interested in taking him to the byline
or floating in crosses but instead, he will want to test Tim Howard at
every given opportunity – Ben Arfa, on average, is taking a shot every
30 minutes.
Baines has been a master at bombing up
and down the left flank with fantastic dynamism for the last few seasons
but Martínez will want him to be conscious of what Ben Arfa is capable
of when not closed down quick enough and the Spaniard may try to use the
right hand side pairing of Coleman and Steven Naismith to combat the
potential space left by Rémy, constantly wanting to move into the box
rather than sticking out wide, leaving Santon with the predicament of
having no cover.
Naismith is a workhorse and will try to
get the better of Santon in the air but should Pardew ask the Italian to
sit back, there is a slight chance Gerard Deulofeu will see some action
in this game as the young Barcelona loanee has more tools in his locker
to chip away at full-backs than Naismith does, whilst Mirallas can
often decide a tight game with his relentless dropping off the shoulder
and dipping shots.
Nonetheless, Baines will still be keen
to test Newcastle further forward via first-time crosses, as not only
have they conceded the most headers so far this season (3), but two of
Hull’s three goals last week came from down that side whilst the other
was from a set-piece.
Newcastle United: Key Men and Where the Game Could Be Won or Lost for Them
Like Baines is for Everton, Ben Arfa
seems to hold the honour of being Newcastle’s key man in every game but
as previously explained, the former Marseille man doesn’t create an
abundance of chances for his team-mates and instead the trio of Sissoko,
Sylvain Marveaux and Cissé have been the most profitable in the
creative department for the visitors so far – producing 32 chances
between each other.
Whilst Marveaux (11 chances) is making
something happen for Pardew’s side every 14.2 minutes when played, with
Cissé (9 chances) also playing his part despite the glowing lack of
goals, Sissoko (12 chances) could be crucial against Everton because his
pace on the counter can not only trouble both McCarthy and Barry’s
strength, but Cabaye is likely to fall back at times to support Anita
or Tioté around Barkley and, therefore, Newcastle’s front line will be
looking towards him to feed the right balls through in order for them to
score.
Everton’s dogged and spirited 1-0 win
over Chelsea two games ago was magnificent but Jose Mourinho’s men
failed to convert any of their enormous 22 attempts and could have won
the game if they had an inspired striker on the field. Although Cissé is
currently on a barren run in front of goal in the Premier League, his
strike against Leeds on Wednesday could give him some confidence
approaching this match, whilst he may profit from any spillages Ben Arfa
can manufacture but more importantly his link-up play with Rémy could
also bring a goal.
Against Hull, Cissé created four
chances, including assists, every 18.3 minutes, which is more than what
Ben Arfa has fashioned in the past five games collectively despite his
early brilliance, but, Cisse is still falling short as a striker – with
the Senegalese having just one shot all match which was off target.
Rémy, however, created one chance
himself and finished with a clear-cut chance conversion rate of 67%
after scoring twice against the Tigers. Both players proved they can
link-up well together and on a better day defensively, Newcastle would
have got something out of the game, yet the biggest factor is that
they’re obviously creating chances and can definitely trouble Everton
through the middle.
Martinez’s open and expansive set-up is
eye-catching when in full-flow but, as he admitted himself after the
Chelsea clash, his players are still going through the transition of
adapting to his fresh tactics and Newcastle could utilise that by
allowing them the ball in their own half, but pressing as soon as they
enter their territory and counter-attacking in numbers.
There has been a couple of hiccups in
certain games for Everton so far because teams have started to close
them down quickly in order to make their players panic, as Martinez
instructs that the ball stays firmly on the floor. Chances could arrive
from this pressing, and Newcastle will be fine with Ben Arfa, Cissé,
Rémy, Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran all capable of scoring; but, they will
need to perk up at the back if they’re going to come away from the game
with something positive to take back to Tyneside.
Interesting Statistics
Everton have lost just one of their last
ten Premier League matches at home against Newcastle United (W6 D3),
whilst Romelu Lukaku has scored four goals in his last four top-flight
appearances.
Only once in the Premier League era have
Everton been unbeaten after six games (2006/07, W3 D3), with the other
occasion before that being the year they lifted the league title in the
1986-87 season (W3 D3).
Prediction
It should undoubtedly be a cracking game
of football to watch between two sides, who both boast several stars
that can step up to the plate and salvage all three points for their
respective outfits. Whilst Everton will hope to take control of the game
with a vast amount of possession, Newcastle will likely play on the
counter attack through the middle and hope more good things will come
from Cissé and Rémy in-and-around the box.
Prediction: Everton 2-1 Newcastle United
