The sixth and final all-Premier League tie in the EFL Cup fourth round takes place at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday night, as Everton play host to Newcastle United.

This contest is the first of a quickfire double-header between the two sides, who will butt heads again in the Premier League four days later at St James’ Park.

Match preview

After kick-starting the new season with an eight-match unbeaten run across all competitions, Everton have since suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats against Chelsea and Arsenal, losing both games by a 2-0 scoreline.

The Toffees were beaten by the reigning top-flight champions at the Emirates last weekend, David Moyes’s 400th defeat across all competitions in his managerial career with all clubs, and they have subsequently slipped into the bottom half of the table, five points behind rivals Liverpool in fourth.

Only the three teams inside the Premier League relegation zone have scored fewer goals than Everton (eight) so far this season, with the Toffees now seeking to avoid going three matches without scoring for the first time since mid to late-December.

With Everton not expected to be dragged into a relegation dogfight this season, Moyes will hope that his Toffees side can make a deep run in the domestic cup competitions – their last trophy triumph dates back to the 1994-95 season when they lifted the FA Cup.

Moyes has been eliminated from seven of his last 10 EFL Cup ties as a manager against teams from the Premier League, but two of the three ties he progressed from were in the fourth round in 2021-22 against Manchester City and 2023-24 with Arsenal, both during his time as West Ham boss.

Everton have navigated their way past Championship duo Preston (4-0 away) and Wolves (1-0 at home) to reach the EFL Cup fourth round this term, and they are now bidding to advance to the quarter-finals for just the second time in the last six years.

The pressure was beginning to mount on new Newcastle boss Mattias Jaissle following a run of three defeats in four matches, but his team responded with a morale-boosting 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

Jaissle’s decision to add “more experience and leadership skills” to his side paid off, and victory for the Magpies has seen them rise to eighth in the Premier League table, just two points behind the top five and crucially five points clear of the bottom three.

Attention now turns to the EFL Cup as Newcastle bid to win the competition for the second time in three seasons; like Everton, they have already beaten two Championship sides this term, with a 3-2 home success over West Bromwich Albion followed by a narrow 1-0 away victory against Millwall in round three last month.

Since the 2022-23 campaign, no team has won more EFL Cup ties than Newcastle (18), a testament to their modern cup pedigree considering their previous 18 victories in the competition were spread out over a 14-season period between 2008-09 and 2021-22.

Although the Magpies have won just one of their last six meetings with Everton (D2 L3), they have prevailed in each of their last seven EFL Cup fourth-round ties – last falling at this stage in 2013-14 against Man City – and are looking to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth season in a row.

Everton EFL Cup form:

Everton form (all competitions):

Newcastle United EFL Cup form:

Newcastle United form (all competitions):

Team News

Everton are set to be without defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who missed the defeat at Arsenal though concussion, while Jack Grealish is a doubt as he was also absent last time out due to illness.

Baring in mind that Moyes is dealing with a small squad, the Scotsman is not expected to make widescale changes, but this midweek cup tie offer the opportunity to hand some fringe players the chance to impress in the first team.

Michael Keane and Ainsley Maitland-Niles could both be recalled in defence, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard and Carlos Alcaraz are all contenders to start in midfield, while Tyler Dibling – who produced a man-of-the-match display in round three – could earn a start in attack.

As for Newcastle, Jaissle has confirmed that Matias Fernandez-Pardo (illness) and Lewis Miley (knock) are both doubtful, while Tino Livramento (knee), Ewen Jaouen (thigh) remain out with injuries.

Jaissle will stick with the “same approach” and name a relatively strong lineup having done so in the previous two rounds, with Harvey Barnes and William Osula – two goalscorers from the weekend – in contention to retain their starting spots in attack.

However, the likes of Yoane Wissa, Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey – the latter two recently recovered from injury – are all hoping to force their way back into the first XI.

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Maitland-Niles, O'Brien, Keane, Mykolenko; Hackney, Armstrong; Dibling, Alcaraz, George; Barry

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Hornicek; Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Gonzalez, Ramsey; Elanga, Wissa, Barnes; Osula

We say: Everton 1-2 Newcastle United

A closely-contested battle could be in store on Merseyside, but Everton's goal-shy form could benefit a clinical Newcastle side who have found the net in 10 of their 11 fixtures across all competitions this season.

The Magpies comfortably won 4-1 away against the Toffees in their most recent Premier League visit last November, and we are backing the Magpies to narrowly edge through to the quarter-finals this week.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.