Opposition Opinion: Newcastle vs Everton - "There for the taking"

Harry from The Toffee Blues is backing Everton to beat us again tonight, predicting a 2-1 win for the visitors at St James' Park.

When we last spoke to Harry ahead of Thursday's cup tie, he expected a scrappy game settled on penalties. After Everton's 3-1 win, we've caught up again to discuss the change in mood, what he made of Newcastle and whether Moyes should stick with the same side.

Were you surprised by how comfortably Everton won on Thursday, and how much has it changed the mood among fans?

I think the majority of the fanbase were stunned with how comfortable Thursday night felt. I feel as though many didn't think we had 3 goals in us. The Grealish drama ahead of kick off had all the makings of another sorry outing for Everton but in the end the XI on the pitch produced the goods and have allowed the fans to dream of a decent cup run.

What stood out about Newcastle last week, and what does Jaissle most need to fix?

It is hard to say what Jaissle needs to fix. It feels like things are very up and down in terms of performance and results and that can make it hard to identify what the real problems are.

It was always going to be hard with Howe leaving and there being a high turnover in players over the summer. Any side would struggle with that.

I think Jaissle will need to do something quickly to keep the fans on side. Give them enough reason to believe that once things settle down and click, that he is the man to take Newcastle forwards. I don't think they've seen too much to suggest that is the case up to now.

Should Moyes stick with Thursday's approach, or change things at St James' Park?

The small squad will likely play to Everton's advantage off the back of a good win in the cup. There aren't that many changes that are there to be made. Grealish hasn't travelled with the squad, so he will likely start with 3 of the 4 that played up top last week.

Dibling will be the only doubt, as Moyes clearly favours Johnson. The only other changes will be if he fancies Armstrong over Hackney and if Branthwaite is fit to replace O'Brien. I'd stick with the same XI. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Would you take a point tonight, or are you expecting another win? What's your score prediction?

Everton need at least a point to avoid slipping to a 3rd consecutive league defeat. You'd hope they'd see Newcastle there for the taking and take confidence in having won on our last 2 visits to the North East. I'd go 2-1 Everton.

Thanks again to Harry for his time. For more Everton coverage, head over to The Toffee Blues.