Everton Starting XI vs Newcastle United: Confirmed Team News and Predicted Lineup

Everton Starting XI vs Newcastle United: Confirmed Team News and Predicted Lineup Everton Predicted XI vs Newcastle as David Moyes Weighs Key Injury Concerns Trying to second guess David Moyes is usually a waste of time. Everton team news tends to stay locked away until the last possible moment, and that has made this Newcastle clash harder than most to call. The pattern is clear, Moyes does not hand out clues for free, and recent events have shown why. Before the Arsenal game, there was little to work with. Then it emerged that Jarrad Branthwaite and Jack Grealish were both unavailable. That is the backdrop heading into this Carabao Cup tie. Everton have issues, Moyes is keeping quiet, and there is no reason to expect a fully fit squad. Everton team news leaves Moyes with familiar problems Branthwaite looks the least likely to return. He missed out after suffering a concussion against Chelsea following a collision with Emi Martinez, and concussion protocols usually settle the matter. Unless there has been a very swift turnaround, he should be ruled out. Grealish is a different case. Illness kept him out against Arsenal, which suggests he could be available here. Availability, though, does not automatically mean a start. Moyes has been cautious all season and he is unlikely to force the issue if the player is short of rhythm. Then there is Vitalii Mykolenko, who came off injured at the weekend. He has had a stop-start season physically, and even a minor problem could be enough for Moyes to leave him out. That matters because Everton do not have endless natural cover on the left. Predicted Everton XI vs Newcastle The likely solution is practical rather than imaginative. If Mykolenko and Branthwaite are both absent, James Garner could slot in at left-back. It is not glamorous, but it is functional, and Moyes values reliability over experimentation. That would open the door for Hayden Hackney to start in midfield, with Everton otherwise sticking fairly close to the side used at Arsenal. Brennan Johnson remains a regular under Moyes, and while there will be calls for Tyler Dibling to get the nod, Johnson starting would surprise nobody. Predicted Everton XI: Pickford, Rohl, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Garner, Armstrong, Hackney, Johnson, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Barry. Newcastle form offers Everton encouragement Newcastle arrive with a decent league position, eighth place is hardly a crisis, but their form has been uneven. A 2-0 win over Crystal Palace helped settle things, yet it followed defeats to Aston Villa and Coventry City. That tells you what this side currently is, capable, awkward, and inconsistent. Everton will know there is an opportunity here. Moyes is expected to take the Carabao Cup seriously, even with another meeting against Newcastle arriving soon in the Premier League. That may lead to a tweak or two, though not a full overhaul. In short, this will come down to who is fit enough to be trusted. With Moyes, that is always the key distinction. He does not deal in sentiment and he rarely deals in noise. If players are ready, they play. If they are not, they watch. Right now, Everton look set to go into this one patched up rather than fully loaded.