OPINION
Newcastle United are capable of upsetting a potentially already heartbroken Everton on Wednesday but Rafa Benitez has to get his team selection right.
The Magpies travel to face the Toffees at Goodison Park on Wednesday with Marco Silva’s side possibly still reeling from a late goal from Liverpool attacker Divock Origi that saw them frustratingly lose the Merseyside Derby 1-0 on Sunday.
However the Toffees have been flying high this season and look impressive, hence why they currently sit sixth in the Premier League, so it will be a tough task for the Magpies to overcome them.
Yet with a few changes to the side that slumped to a 3-0 defeat courtesy of West Ham on Saturday, Benitez can put together a team capable of causing an upset.
The Magpies boss must keep the fantastic Martin Dubravka between the sticks but must field five defenders in front of him in order to keep the Toffees’ attack at bay.
DeAndre Yedlin, Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar all started the clash with the Hammers and keep their places, however they should be joined by Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark.
Clark, who performed great against Burnley, takes the places of Javier Manquillo in the starting line-up after the Spaniard failed to take his opportunity to impress on Saturday.
The 29-year-old will be deployed as a left-back with first-choice option Paul Dummett still a doubt, as reported the Chronicle, after picking up an injury on international duty.
Benitez’s second change to his defence which sees Lascelles return to action, should see Mohamed Diame lose his place in midfield and the starting line-up to make room.
As for the Magpies midfield, Kenedy and Ki Sung-yeung keep their places in the team but Jonjo Shelvey and Christian Atsu play alongside them instead.
Atsu is a pacey winger who can exploit the Toffees on the counter-attack and the speedster takes the place of Matt Ritchie in the team in the third change Benitez must make due to the Scotland international being suspended.
It will be a rare start for the 26-year-old after only starting one league game this season, but he showed glimpses against the Hammers that he is eager to make a positive statement.
The fourth and final change Benitez must make to upset the Toffees sees 25-year-old Ayoze Perez axed for a woeful display on Saturday and replaced by Shelvey.
The central midfielder is one of the best passers in the Premier League and he can carve the Toffees open with his passes and put chances on a plate for Salomon Rondon if played just behind him as an attacking midfielder.
As for Rondon, he clearly must keep his place as a guaranteed starter as he is the Magpies’ biggest goal threat and could strike against the Toffees.
If Benitez’s fields this team, it will be defensively strong enough to keep the Toffees at bay while having enough creativity and pace to cause an upset against Silva’s side by actually securing at least a point.
