Joelinton has been a consistent performer for Newcastle so far this term, in what has been a difficult overall start to the campaign. He’s featured in 10 of Newcastle’s 12 games in the Premier League this season, winning 11 fouls across these games (1.34 per 90).

Joelinton is part of a midfield trio which is amongst the strongest in the Premier League. Guimaraes and Tonali support the Brazilian, completing a midfield unit which many in the top flight struggle to break down. The key to trying to get a result against Newcastle is winning the midfield battle, which is why all three are strong when it comes to winning fouls.

Joelintnon’s strength and stature make him a difficult player to knock off the ball without bringing down, and he certainly boasts more physicality than the Everton midfield trio expected to line up here of Garner, Iroegbunam and Dewsbury-Hall. The latter could have quite a few run-ins with Joelinton, having committed 15 fouls across his 11 Premier League appearances this term (1.38 per 90).

This links quite well with the Joelinton angle, with both selections likely to land in the same action. Garner has impressed me in the middle of the park for Everton so far this term, with the 24-year-old starting all 12 of the Toffees’ matches in the Premier League.

He’s committed 10 fouls across those appearances (0.83 per 90) with his opponents likely to force a rise in that metric here. Garner will be lining up against one of the most effective midfield trios in the Premier League when it comes to winning fouls:

Bruno Guimaraes - 2.47 fouls won p/90

Joelinton - 1.34 fouls won p/90

Sandro Tonali - 1.22 fouls won p/90

(25/26 PL Stats)

We can expect the Everton midfielders to have to work extra hard here to contain the threat of Newcastle’s effective trio, which has been the cornerstone of their success under Eddie Howe so far. Garner committed two fouls against Manchester United at Old Trafford last time out, and can be tempted into a similar number of infringements here.

Newcastle have been really poor on the road so far this season, with Eddie Howe’s side yet to register an away win in the Premier League. They’ve drawn three and lost three of their matches on the road, conceding eight goals across these fixtures and failing to keep a clean sheet across their last four away matches in all competitions.

Everton will take real confidence from their 1-0 win over Man United last time out, significant not only due to the fact that it was Everton’s first win at Old Trafford in over 10 years, but also because they managed to do it with 10 men. Everton have scored seven goals across their five matches at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this term, losing just one of their six matches.

Everton have managed to score in each of their last three matches heading into this encounter, and take on a Newcastle side that has failed to keep a clean sheet in four of their last five matches across all competitions.

Newcastle have been poor on the road, but there have been signs in recent weeks that the Magpies could be more of a threat in the final third with players returning to fitness.

The return of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall in the full back positions are perhaps the most notable additions to the squad, with the former Chelsea duo allowing Newcastle to play in a more expansive manner, as we saw against Manchester City recently, where Lewis Hall, in particular, was excellent down his side.

Newcastle had five shots on target in that 2-1 win over Manchester City, and followed that performance up with nine shots on target in the Champions League against Marseille. The form of Harvey Barnes also means that Newcastle have some depth in the final third for the first time this season.

Newcastle are averaging 3.80 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, but I expect this to rise as the season progresses, with Newcastle expected to have a similar surge in performances as they did last campaign around this time of year.

Harvey Barnes has always had an excellent finishing ability for a winger, his issues at Newcastle have largely been down to fitness, with the 27-year-old nearly always impactful when he does get to feature. Howe has developed his game well since he joined the Magpies, a bit like Jacob Murphy on the opposite flank, with both players improving under the tutelage of Howe.

Barnes comes into this game having registered a goal contribution in each of his last four appearances for Newcastle, with these coming against Athletic Club, Brentford, Man City and Marseille. His brace against City in the Premier League last time out showed his quality, with the first goal in particular being a brilliant finish.

Barnes can carry that momentum in this game, with Newcastle looking for their first away win of the season in the Premier League. Everton may sit quite deep at times here, but Barnes can be effective from distance, with seven of his 16 shots, and one of his three goals, coming from outside of the area this campaign.

Lewis Hall put in an excellent performance against Manchester City last time out, and may be on the mind of Thomas Tuchel for a spot in the England squad if he can maintain his fitness from now until the end of the season. Hall wasn’t fouled against Manchester City, but Everton are a more ideal opponent to bring him down.

Hall has won four fouls across 223 minutes of Premier League football this term (1.61 per 90), showing his potential across a small sample size when it comes to winning fouls. He averaged 0.86 fouls won per 90 across his 27 appearances in the Premier League last season, showing that he can be a consistent option when it comes to this part of his game.

Hall is likely to line up against Iliman Ndiaye and Jake O’Brien when he goes further forward. The duel with Ndiaye is particularly intriguing; the winger has committed 12 fouls across his 12 Premier League appearances this season (1.08 per 90) and will engage with Hall pretty often down that side of the pitch.

There are rumours that Idrissa Gueye could be suspended for up to 10 matches for slapping teammate Micheal Keane against Man United last time out, leaving the Toffees to contest most of the game with 10 men. This should see Tim Iroegbunam step into the starting role, and he looks very appealing for a card against this Newcastle midfield.

Iroegbunam is a promising young player and may develop into a solid Premier League midfielder, but at the moment he is very reckless. He’s committed six fouls across his four starts in the Premier League (1.54 per 90), and has already picked up four yellow cards this campaign.

Iroegbunam picked up four yellow cards across just five starts in the Premier League for Everton last season, averaging 2.39 fouls committed per 90 across these games. I’d be shocked if he didn’t commit at least a few fouls here, with Newcastle’s midfield trio of Tonali, Guimaraes and Joelinton being incredibly effective when it comes to winning fouls.