A look at the starting changes David Moyes could make to his Everton side for the Premier League clash at Newcastle United on Saturday
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 23: David Moyes, Manager of Everton, reacts during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
David Moyes reacts during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on February 23, 2026
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(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Everton will be without their match-winner at Newcastle United back in May when they return to St James’ Park on Saturday.
Carlos Alcaraz will miss the trip to the north east after suffering an injury in training on Sunday. David Moyes did not confirm the nature of the problem before or after the 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United but did say he expected the attacking midfielder to be out for weeks.
That will come as a blow to Moyes, who has used Alcaraz sparingly this season but is in need of a rethink as he works out how to produce an attacking threat in the absence of the injured Jack Grealish.
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Everton have looked blunt up front since Grealish’s injury last month and again struggled to create clear cut chances in their narrow loss on Monday night. Alcaraz will not be able to offer Moyes a solution.
He will have another of the players who impressed in the final day win at Newcastle available to him, however, with Jake O’Brien having now served his one game ban for the red card he received in the defeat at home to Bournemouth.
O’Brien played centre-back that afternoon and Moyes will likely reconsider his defensive set up once again given the methods he resorted to against Man United. The Blues boss played Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner as his full-backs and, while they were largely solid, it meant sacrificing two of his best players for the good of the team.
Specialist full-backs Nathan Patterson, Seamus Coleman, Vitalii Mykolenko and Adam Aznou were all fit to play on Monday but none made an appearance, with the latter once again missing out on the squad entirely.
O’Brien has regularly played at right back for Moyes yet while a return to that position may be considered it would represent another imperfect answer to a problem that has persisted for several years.
A similar call will also need to be made on the wing, where Moyes again used central midfielder Harrison Armstrong against Man United. The teenager played well but it is hard to see how Everton improve going forward without a more attacking option such as Tyler Dibling or Tyrique George out wide.
Dwight McNeil could provide another option after he joined the matchday squad for the first time since his move to Crystal Palace fell through on deadline day.
As well as Alcaraz, Everton are expected to be without goalkeeper Mark Travers. The 26-year-old has damaged a finger.
Teenage goalkeeper George Pickford has been recalled from his loan deal with Southport while Travers’ issue is assessed.
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