Newcastle go into Newcastle vs Everton with the same opponent, but a very different selection problem. William Osula was substituted at half-time in the 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and he is now a doubt after twisting his ankle. That leaves Yoane Wissa and Matias Fernández as the main alternatives up front.

The striker choice

Matthias Jaissle said Osula “was not able to continue” after the shot that ended his night, adding: “It's too early at the moment [to say if he will be available to play].” The injury is awkward because Osula had only recently returned from an ankle problem that kept him out since the opening game of the season. He has made only four Premier League appearances, with one goal and one assist, so Newcastle are still dealing with a player who has barely had a run at full speed.

Wissa is the obvious senior option if Osula misses out, but his return has been modest. He has one league goal from eight appearances, and a 6.63 rating does not suggest a forward forcing the issue. Fernandez-Pardo is the other route, and his 6.77 rating is slightly higher, which at least gives Newcastle a case for giving him a bigger role after illness kept him out of the last two games against Crystal Palace and Everton.

Pressure without enough finishing

The wider problem for Newcastle is that they did create openings in the cup tie. They had 29 attempts against Everton, yet still lost 3-1 after James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry put the visitors 3-0 ahead by the 69th minute.

That balance is why the forward decision matters. Newcastle were lively enough to ask questions, but they were not sharp enough to make the pressure count. A rematch four days later does not guarantee a different result, though it does put the focus on whether the hosts can turn chances into goals with a thinner striker group than they would like.

The selection call up front is the main issue before the league meeting on 2 November, because the last cup game already showed how much Newcastle need cleaner finishing to back up their territory and volume of shots.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →