Prediction & odds for the game: Newcastle (13/5) v Everton (21/20)
When: Saturday, 28th December 2019 @ 3pm K.O
Where: St James’ Park
Newcastle United will attempt to derail Carlo Ancelotti’s start to life as Everton manager when the two meet this weekend.
Newcastle
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Steve Bruce was brought into the mix to replace Rafa Benitez, with many writing him off before he was even given a chance to shine. Now, while the Magpies aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire, they certainly aren’t considered to be one of the favourites for the drop anymore. If they can bring in some stability from a defensive point of view, they could be looking towards a midtable finish and confirmation of safety by the time April rolls around.
Newcastle looked great in the early stages against Manchester United, but that all gradually fell apart as they wound up losing 4-1. They’ve also lost to Burnley recently, but aside from that, the results have been looking pretty good. They drew with Manchester City and managed to pick up big wins over Crystal Palace, Southampton and Sheffield United.
Everton
The Carlo Ancelotti era has begun and it is an exciting time to be an Everton fan once again. The real test of what he wants to do at Goodison Park will come during the January transfer window as he attempts to bring in a few new faces. On the pitch, though, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that they should back themselves to beat half of the teams in the top flight at the very least. Whether or not they’re cohesive enough to get the job done is another matter altogether.
Everton haven’t lost inside 90 minutes in their last five games since Marco Silva was dismissed after their 5-2 embarrassment in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool. They’ve secured wins over Chelsea and Burnley in that time, with Duncan Ferguson being the man to thank for the first of those two wins. They were beaten on penalties by Leicester in the Carabao Cup after a valiant fightback, and managed to grab a point against both Arsenal and Manchester United.
Conclusion
There is always a natural hesitation about games of this nature because these two clubs are just so unbelievably inconsistent. Still, while it may seem a bit silly, we believe that this is going to be a really entertaining game. Newcastle and Everton have natural goalscorers within their ranks, and they’ve also got players who have a tendency to make simple mistakes from time to time. It’s going to be a hectic affair with both teams getting on the scoresheet, with a draw being our predicted result.
There are going to be plenty of goals to speak of, too, which is why we’re officially backing the over 2.5 goals market.
Verdict: Back the draw at odds of 12/5 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 11/10. (All odds are taken from bet365).
[geosnippet id=3620]Go ahead and bet on Newcastle v Everton at the betting page – or mix things up by checking out one of the other available fixtures at the soccer predictions page.
