Peter Reid wants Everton to keep pushing in the Carabao Cup even with the squad stretched. The club face Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday evening, and Reid says the extra games are worth it if Everton can build a run.

Reid's case for the cup

"I love cup runs. Having not won anything since 1995, as we all know and we're all getting reminded, a cup run would bring more games but I'm all for it," Reid told chroniclelive.co.uk. He also said, "People might say it's a Catch-22 situation, but I just think it's good if you do well in the cups. I would love Everton to win a cup at Wembley for their supporters."

His point is not hard to follow. Everton have a first-team squad of just 18 outfield players, with only one striker, one left-back and one right-back available in that group. That is a thin base for a team who still have league work to do, but Reid is arguing that the chance of a cup run should not be passed up because of caution alone.

Everton's workload around the tie

The schedule adds to the pressure. This is the first of two consecutive fixtures against Newcastle, with a Premier League meeting at St James' Park coming on Monday. Everton sit 11th in the Premier League with 10 points from 8 games, while Newcastle are 8th with 11 points from 8 games.

Everton's league form is mixed too. Their last five Premier League matches read LLDWD, and their goal difference is -1. Newcastle arrive with WLLWL in their last five league games, which makes Thursday's tie less predictable than the table might suggest.

Reid's comments fit the tension around the week. The concern over injuries is real, especially after Jarrad Branthwaite sat out the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal because of concussion protocol, Jack Grealish was absent through sickness, and Vitalii Mykolenko was forced off after 74 minutes through injury. But Reid's bigger point is still the same, Everton have not won anything since 1995, and a cup run is the sort of chance clubs do not get often.

Thursday's Everton vs Newcastle tie is the first of two meetings in four days, and it gives Everton a chance to put Reid's view into practice before the league return at St James' Park on Monday.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →