Newcastle United face Everton at St James’ Park on Wednesday night, and pundit Chris Sutton has predicted what he thinks the result will be.
The former Blackburn Rovers striker has given his views on every midweek Premier League game for BBC Sport, and expects Eddie Howe to come out on top against Frank Lampard’s side.
The Magpies will put their unbeaten run on the line against Everton, having avoided defeat in their last five. Newcastle extended that run on Sunday with a 0-0 draw against Manchester United.
However, it could have been more. Newcastle played very well at Old Trafford, and the result leaves them in sixth place.
As for Everton, they have had a mixed start to the new season. They are much better defensively thanks to the arrivals of ex-Toon target James Tarkowski and Conor Coady, but they are struggling at the other end of the pitch.
Lampard’s men have won 10 points from their opening 10 games, and sit 14th in the table thanks to two wins and four draws.
But will they be able to get their third win at the expense of Newcastle? Sutton doesn’t think so.
Sutton predicts Newcastle to beat Everton
As part of his predictions on BBC Sport, Sutton has explained why he thinks Newcastle will beat Everton on Wednesday night. He is anticipating a 2-0 victory for the Magpies.
“Newcastle were a little unlucky not to win at Old Trafford, and they seem to have found a good balance in their team,” Sutton wrote.
“Defensively they are sound and they also had a few chances against Manchester United – you can see why they are in the top six, and they probably should have even more points than they do.
“Everton have lost their past two games and I can see them struggling here too.”
Magpies keen to extend unbeaten run
If Newcastle can play as well against Everton as they did against Manchester United then it could be a good night for the Magpies.
Howe’s side were unlucky not to win, but faded in the second half. However, we showed our defensive toughness to secure a well-deserved point.
But Everton will present a different test. They will likely be prepared to do a lot of defending at St James’ Park. That means it will be up to us to break them down.
That is something we have struggled to do this season, although we appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks with big wins over Fulham and Brentford.
If Newcastle can win, it will move the Magpies up to 18 points and further solidify our status as European contenders this season. But if we don’t, it will be a reminder that there is still a long way to go in this ambitious project.
However, confidence is flowing through this team, and Howe will believe his players are capable of victory.
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