Newcastle were handed a major boost as Everton lost another key player ahead of their final game of the season at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Iliman Ndiaye scored a brace as the Toffees played their last Premier League fixture at Goodison Park yesterday in a 2-0 win over Southampton.
After an early battle with relegation, Everton are now certain to finish either 13th or 14th in the league depending on Wolves’ results. Newcastle must beat them on the final day to know for certain we will finish in the top five, and our chances are even better as another Blues defender was forced off.
Everton are likely to be without their preferred centre-back pairing of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite when they head to St. James’ Park on the final day of the Premier League season.
Tarkowski was forced off early with a hamstring injury against Manchester City on April 19 that has saw David Moyes move right-back Jake O’Brien to centre-back for three of the four games since.
Meanwhile, Branthwaite has been a mainstay of Moyes’ defence since the Scotsman took over in January – but he too is likely to miss the final day of the season after being withdrawn with a hamstring issue in Sunday’s win over Southampton.
This almost certainly means a pairing of Jake O’Brien and Michael Keane this weekend, giving us an early advantage whether our star striker is fit or not.
Newcastle added Alexander Isak to their injury list when they headed to the Emirates on Sunday, with Kieran Trippier unable to make the squad for the second consecutive game.
Eddie Howe will hope to have the pair back for the final game of the season with three points against Everton enough to guarantee a top five finish with a goal difference of +22 far superior to Aston Villa’s (+9), who could only move level with us should we win.
As for Joelinton, it seems unlikely that the Brazilian is able to return for Sunday’s game.
“He’s working away behind the scenes,” said Howe. “Typical Joe he’s absolutely foot to the floor trying to get fit because he wants to be involved. The biggest possibility is that we don’t see him again this season and we’ll get him ready for next year.”