Everton away for Newcastle as Carabao Cup draw sets up double meeting

Newcastle United have been drawn away to Everton in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, leaving a trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium between us and the quarter-finals.

The tie will take place in the week beginning Monday 26 October, with the exact date and kick-off time still to be confirmed.

An awkward draw, but a winnable one. A home tie would have been welcome after our trip to Millwall, and Bradford or Peterborough would have looked more appealing on paper. Equally, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea among the potential opponents, it could certainly have been worse.

Matthias Jaissle’s side secured our place through Joe Willock’s late winner at The Den, while Everton booked theirs tonight by beating Wolves 1-0. Carlos Alcaraz scored their 80th-minute winner, giving both clubs a similarly narrow passage through the previous round.

Two Everton games in succession

There’s an interesting twist in the calendar, with this draw setting up consecutive meetings with David Moyes’ side.

Newcastle visit Crystal Palace on Sunday 25 October before the cup trip to Merseyside. We then host Everton at St James’ Park on Monday 2 November, kick-off 8pm.

Everton, meanwhile, go to Arsenal on Saturday 24 October before hosting us. That gives them an extra day between their preceding league fixture and the cup tie, although a trip to the Emirates is hardly gentle preparation.

For Jaissle, it means back-to-back away games before Everton come to Tyneside. The Monday league fixture at least offers some breathing room after the cup match.

First cup meeting since 2002

Despite the regular Premier League meetings, these clubs haven’t faced one another in a cup competition since November 2002.

That was a dramatic League Cup third-round tie at St James’ Park, where Kieron Dyer scored twice before Newcastle eventually lost 3-2 on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra-time. Former Magpie Steve Watson was among Everton’s scorers.

There’s a much happier FA Cup reference point from March 1999, when we beat Everton 4-1 in the quarter-finals. Temuri Ketsbaia scored twice, with Georgios Georgiadis and Alan Shearer also on target.

This time, the prize is a place in the last eight. We needed a late breakthrough against Championship opposition in the previous round; stepping up against a Premier League side away from home will demand more quality. It’s a tie worth taking seriously from the first team sheet.