Everton and Newcastle will meet twice in four days, and I think that changes the Carabao Cup tie more than any single absence. Newcastle's manager says he will pick the best line-up and "go all in" because of the club's history in this cup, while Everton's back line is full of question marks after Arsenal. So my question is whether Newcastle's full-strength intent runs into an Everton defence that may be short of its centre-back and left-back, or whether the hosts, with a small squad, simply cannot afford to rotate.
Newcastle first. Per Yahoo Sports (The Mag), Jaissle described Miley and Fernandez-Pardo as doubtful rather than ruled out, and said Livramento is still in rehab with no return date. Our availability feed lists Jaouen, Miley, Fernandez-Pardo and Livramento as out, so the keeper pecking order (Horníček or Pope) and the right-back slot are the spots to watch. In our records they have won 2-0 at Crystal Palace after a 0-1 home loss to Aston Villa and a 1-4 at Coventry, so the away form is better than the home form lately.
Everton's side. Read Everton reports Branthwaite missed the 0-2 at Arsenal under concussion protocol, Grealish missed it through illness, and Mykolenko was forced off in the second half with no update. Sports Mole expects few changes because of a small squad. Everton have gone LLDWWDDDWW over their last ten in our table, with a 1-0 League Cup win over Wolves already behind them this season, so they have a cup route that doesn't need wholesale rotation.
The part I find interesting is the rematch. If the next league meeting is on the same agenda for both managers, one of them has a reason to hold something back, and the cup tie is where you'd see it first. The winner goes away to Fleetwood, who knocked out Arsenal, per Newcastle's own site. I'd watch the team sheets for the keeper, the centre-back pairing and whether Everton's creative players actually start.
