Everton will welcome Newcastle United to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time on Saturday evening.
Newcastle’s St. James’ Park relic used to stand proud over Goodison Park in terms of capacity, with a 13,000 difference between the two iconic Premier League behemoths.
However, the Hill Dickinson Stadium being built means that Everton have the bragging rights over the Tyneside outfit, with 52,769 seats eclipsing St. James’ Park by just 464 seats.
But although Newcastle fans will want to tick off the new River Mersey ground, Everton will be wary of letting them have too much fun on new turf – especially given they handed Newcastle a huge point at Goodison Park just six years ago.
Everton FC v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Everton threw away a lead in the most insane circumstances vs Newcastle in 2020
Everton went into their January 2020 clash against Newcastle in 11th place, knowing a win would take them into the top half of the Premier League table if just one of three other results went their way.
And, when Moise Kean scored his first Everton goal on the half-hour mark, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored after the interval, it seemed as though Carlo Ancelotti would make it three home wins in a row at Goodison Park.
Craig Pawson announced as referee for Everton vs Newcastle United – what are the Premier League thinking?
FBL-ENG-PR-LIVERPOOL-EVERTON
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
That simply wasn’t the case. Newcastle had even failed to register a single shot on target until the 93rd minute, and with 60 seconds left of stoppage-time, even a point looked out of the question before French centre-back Florian Lejeune pulled a goal back via an overhead kick.
MORE EVERTON STORIES
But fans on that cold Tuesday night on Merseyside will have been shocked when Lejeune – who hadn’t scored for Newcastle in over 35 games prior to that – scrambled home an equaliser in the 95th minute to see Everton drop two vital points.
Everton have had huge success against Newcastle in recent times
Everton’s 4-1 loss to Newcastle United in April 2023 really damaged their Premier League survival bid under Sean Dyche.
It was the sixth game in a row that they’d failed to win in the league, and it saw the club drop to 19th in the table – two points from safety, and four points from the bottom of the table as the lowest scorers in the division.
What’s your worst memory of Craig Pawson officiating Everton?
“Their second goal was a foul on me. He’s literally stood on my knee cap. I’m not going to go down that easy, but the referee’s mentioned something about it.”
James Garner on Wolves’ second goal (2025)
“I don’t know what more you have to do to get a penalty.”
Dominic Calvert-Lewin on Newcastle penalty incident (2024)
“I asked the referee and he said he didn’t feel it was a bookable offence. A lot of people who were here today would be stunned it was not a second yellow, including their manager who couldn’t wait to get him off.”
Sean Dyche on Konate yellow card incident vs Liverpool (2023)
However, since then, they’ve had a strong record against the Magpies. A 3-0 win in December 2023 came at just the right time after news of a 10-point deduction in the Premier League, while the 1-1 draw in April 2024 at St. James’ Park meant they picked up vital points to stay up again.
A 0-0 draw against Eddie Howe’s men last season saw Jordan Pickford save an Anthony Gordon penalty, and a final day 1-0 win over the Magpies means they’ve conceded just once in four games ahead of Saturday evening’s clash – a good omen to have.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox