How Everton Will Line Up Against Newcastle

Everton host Newcastle on Monday Night Football as the Premier League's only remaining undefeated side.

After three draws and two consecutive wins, another three points will see the Toffees end this round of fixtures in the top four.

Having altered his lineups for the Capital One Cup—arguably too much—Roberto Martinez has deployed similar starting XIs in the Premier League, focusing on stylistic rather than selectional alterations.

Here's a look at a potential side to face Newcastle in a fixture the Toffees have lost just once in their opponent's last 10 visits and won six.

Team News

According to Roberto Martinez's pre-match press conference, the majority of Everton's injured personnel have a decent chance of making this game.

The one that definitely won't return is Antolin Alcaraz, who suffered a setback in his recovery, delaying his comeback by another three or four weeks. Leon Osman, who limped off against West Ham, sounds like the most likely to return, as well as Arouna Kone.

Steven Pienaar—not seen since Everton's 0-0 draw away at Cardiff—is the other player whose injury status remains unclear. While he hasn't trained, his natural fitness means Martinez is reluctant to rule him out just yet.

Selection

Therefore, considering the above team news, this is a selection Martinez may turn to against Newcastle.

While Everton's back five were a little less secure against West Ham, who ended their run of three clean sheets, there's no way that Martinez alters anything either in goal or in defence. 

The main debate surrounds who starts in central midfield. Gareth Barry is fast becoming the most automatic selection here and will play, but whom he partners is less clear. All of Osman, Darron Gibson and James McCarthy have a chance of playing.

Presuming Osman is still sidelined by injury, Gibson may be the starter, given his greater experience at the club. While McCarthy is more of a like-for-like swap with Osman, Martinez may opt against selecting two new signings together.

However, this position really is wide open for Monday and it would not be the greatest surprise to see McCarthy or a returning Osman selected instead.

Further up the field, Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley are certainties, and Steven Naismith also seems likely to keep his place. Despite being inauspicious against West Ham and subsequently hauled off at half-time, he returned to scoring ways against Fulham in the Capital One Cup.

That should be enough to keep his place, although Gerard Deulofeu is putting him under considerable pressure to start. Martinez seems determined to ease the Spaniard in gently, but he seems more in contention every week.

Up front, Nikica Jelavic has now gone five games without a goal. In his last 1,397 minutes in the Premier League, the Croatian has just one goal, while Romelu Lukaku has 12 in that time. Given his goalscoring debut at West Ham, it's surely time for a change in attack.

Statistics via WhoScored? 

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