Paul Merson sends Everton major warning ahead of Newcastle clash
Paul Merson has sent Everton a stark warning ahead of their crunch Premier League relegation showdown against Newcastle United on Thursday (March 17).
The Blues sit level on points with 18th place Watford at the bottom of the table, narrowly avoiding the drop zone thanks to a better goal difference than the Hornets.
Frank Lampard’s side welcome an in-form Toon side to Goodison Park as they look to bounce back from a disappointing home defeat to Wolves last time out.
“Everton host Newcastle on Thursday and that’s going to be a hard game. I was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and Newcastle are better than I thought,” Merson said in his Sky Sports column.
“They parked the bus but they parked it in a way where they did it very well. Chelsea never looked like winning the game.
“Everton have got to go and win that game now – a draw’s no good. They’ve had some injuries in key places.
“They need Dominic Calvert-Lewin back firing. But they’re sort of in that situation where it’s Everton, never been relegated, so they go out and try to play entertaining, attacking football.
“Frank Lampard, when he was at Chelsea, always tried to play on the front foot and have a go.
“I don’t know if Everton think they’re too good just to go and get a point somewhere, because points mount up. At the moment they’re chasing their tails.”
Must change
There have been a few ‘biggest games of the season’ in recent weeks with the terrible position the club find themselves in and Thursday’s clash is another one of those.
It is vital the Blues do not lose against Eddie Howe’s side which is a lot easier said than done. They haven’t lost a game in 2022 and have seemingly completely dodged their major relegation concerns from earlier in the season.
Why couldn’t Lampard have the same impact as his English counterpart in the North East? Instead, the Toffees find themselves closer to their first ever relegation in the club’s long illustrious history.
Everton could be in the relegation zone by the end of the next round of fixtures. Both Watford and Burnley could overtake them if the results go their way and then the Blues really would be in trouble.
Let’s hope the team can turn things around against Newcastle and mount a great escape.
In other Everton news, Michael Ball empties both barrels on the players amid the Blues’ relegation crisis.
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