Newcastle United hosts Everton FC in matchup of two sides trying to qualify for continental competition, of any form, for next season. Everton is on the first page of the standings, barely, but in striking distance of locking up a Conference League slot for 2026-27. Their fitness/availability situation is really favorable right now, with just one absentee for this weekend: Jack Grealish, who is out for the season after the season after undergoing foot surgery.
Meanwhile Jake O’Brien is back from suspension, having finished serving out his ban in the loss to Manchester United on Monday night.
Newcastle United vs Everton FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Feb 28, 2026, 4pm UK, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Google Result Probability: Newcastle 55% Draw 24% Everton FC 21%
PL Position, Form Guide: Newcastle 11th, 36 pts, LLLWL Everton FC, 9th, 45 pts DDWLL
Newcastle Team News
As for the Geordies, they have been in brutal form as of late, and now find themselves on the second page of the standings again. Their injury list is quite long, but it could see two names come off of it here, perhaps. Both Lewis Miley and Valentino Livramento could recover from their thigh injuries in time to feature here, or perhaps they make their returns in the next match.
“He’s making good progress,” manager Eddie Howe said of Livramento on Friday, “but I don’t think we’re going to shave too much time off the early March target for him.”
So he’s almost there- ditto for Lewis Miley. Said Howe:
“Lewis still has a little bit to go. Without going into too much medical stuff, which is beyond me, it was a dead leg, but it disturbed a bit of the muscle. I don’t think he’s too far away, nothing more than a week or a couple of weeks maximum, but we’ve been told that we’ve got to be careful with it.”
Other than that, the Newcastle fitness situation remains unchanged.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.