With a number of new arrivals seeking to make their mark for both sides, Newcastle United welcome Everton to St James' Park for Tuesday's Premier League battle.
Eddie Howe's side most recently got the better of Leeds United 1-0 before the international break, while Frank Lampard's Toffees eased past Brentford 4-1 in the FA Cup.
Match preview
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It was hardly a surprise to see Newcastle splash the cash in January as they endeavour to drag themselves away from the dotted line, but the signing of one particular Brazilian lynchpin headlined the Magpies' winter business during the last knockings of the window.
Despite persistent links with Champions League-chasing Arsenal, Bruno Guimaraes made the move to Tyneside from Lyon in a real statement from intent from Newcastle, who have also bolstered their defensive ranks with the signings of Dan Burn and Matt Targett.
Eddie Howe would have ideally wanted to boost his attacking ranks further after welcoming Chris Wood to the club, but they may not need to worry if Jonjo Shelvey continues to make the net ripple, as the midfielder's free kick sunk Leeds to hand Newcastle just their second win of the league season on January 22.
The Magpies still have plenty of work to do if they are to avoid a humiliating demotion to the Championship, but Howe's 19th-placed crop are now just one point below Norwich City with a game in hand, so the new arrivals cannot make an impact quickly enough.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Newcastle have now strung together a three-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, and Howe will hope to see his defensive additions rectify their defensive home woes, with 23 goals shipped the second-worst record on familiar territory this term.
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The new arrivals for Everton in Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli would not take centre stage in the FA Cup due to their ineligibility, but the new manager bounce would be in full effect for the Toffees as they saw off Brentford with aplomb.
Richarlison, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend were all on target as Lampard enjoyed a near perfect start to life in the Goodison Park dugout, and Lord knows how much Everton needed a dominant performance to boost their depleted confidence.
Ending a three-game losing run in the Premier League is the next task at hand for Lampard, who takes the reins with Everton languishing in 16th place in the table - only four points clear of the drop zone but with games in hand on the teams around them.
It would be equally unthinkable for the Goodison Park outfit to drop down to the second tier of English football, but only Newcastle and Burnley have performed worse on the road than the Toffees this season, with their only win away from home coming against Brighton & Hove Albion back in August.
Newcastle did march to back-to-back wins over Everton during the 2020-21 season, with the Magpies prevailing 2-1 at St James' Park before a more comfortable 2-0 success at Goodison Park 13 months ago.
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Team News
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Newcastle continue their fight to avoid the drop without Jamal Lewis, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden, Callum Wilson or Federico Fernandez, but the latter is not thought to be too far away from a comeback.
Joelinton and Paul Dummett are fresh concerns for Howe after being forced off in the win over Leed - although the former could feature - so Targett and Guimaraes may be thrown in straight away for their debuts here.
Jamaal Lascelles was another casualty of the Elland Road win with an apparent hamstring issue, which could see Burn also drafted into a new-look Magpies team if he shakes off a foot concern.
Meanwhile, Everton were dealt an early blow against Brentford as Ben Godfrey came off for goalscorer Mina after just 14 minutes due to a hamstring problem, which could rule him out for at least a month.
Godfrey joins Tom Davies, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph in the medical bay, and Lampard is hopeful that Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be able to feature in some capacity despite taking a knock to the knee in training.
Alli, Van de Beek and Anwar El Ghazi are all ready to return after being cup-tied for the Brentford win, but it would not be a surprise to see all three only make the bench as Lampard refuses to fix what is not broken.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Targett; Willock, Shelvey, Guimaraes; Fraser, Wood, Saint-Maximin
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Holgate, Keane, Mina; Coleman, Allan, Gomes, Mykolenko; Townsend, Richarlison, Gray
We say: Newcastle United 1-2 Everton
Both Newcastle and Everton will hope to see their wealth of January arrivals act as the catalysts for a better second half of the season, and confidence may slowly be growing in the two camps.
Howe's side are sure to take note of the Toffees' frailties on the road, but with an abundance of talent set to take their place on the Everton bench, some inspired substitutions could turn the tide in Lampard's favour on Tuesday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newcastle United win with a probability of 37.41%. A win for Everton had a probability of 34.5% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newcastle United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.9%) and 2-0 (6.94%). The likeliest Everton win was 0-1 (11%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.18%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 3.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Newcastle United would win this match.
