Eddie Howe now outlines ‘biggest challenge’ Everton will pose his Newcastle side

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Everton are back in Premier League action again tomorrow night, enjoying a four-day rest before returning to Goodison Park to face Newcastle United.

It marks a tough test for the hosts, even if the Magpies boast a squad ravaged by injuries, and should be a true tactical battle between Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe.

The latter has performed admirably on Tyneside, with the vast riches invested with an intelligence that the Toffees could only dream of.

However, he rightly remains wary of the immense threat that Everton will pose, even if they have won just a single game at home all campaign.

Should they manage to translate their away form into Goodison Park, it could pose a problem for the rest of the Premier League.

Howe is well aware of that, and told Newcastle United’s official channels: ‘They have made big strides as a team, the biggest challenge for us is that we compete as they do. They are a very strong, physical team.

‘They will pose questions for us defensively which we will have to answer, we are going to have to respond to those questions. It is a big game for us. We know our away form has to improve.’

Will Everton beat Newcastle United on Thursday?

History dictates that this is a fixture that narrowly favours the Toffees, but the present marks a depressingly different eventuality.

Of the last seven games that Everton have played against the Tyneside outfit, they have won just once, in what was another dramatic night under a floodlit Goodison Park.

However, across the 182 games the two have shared the pitch, tomorrow’s hosts have 75 wins to Newcastle’s 71.

With Howe employing a high-octane brand of football that seeks to force mistakes high up the pitch, facing a Dyche outfit not afraid to bypass the midfield in order to directly feed the striker, it could actually come down to a case of who wants it more.

Given Luton Town lost last night, and a win would see them escape the relegation zone, Everton have no better incentive to give it their all.