Premier League - Preview: Newcastle United v Everton
Everton's Romelu Lukaku celebrates his goal against Newcastle United (Reuters)
Roberto Martinez knows his Everton side have the opportunity to make it a season to remember ahead of their final nine Barclays Premier League matches.
The Merseyside club are fifth in the table and still harbour hopes of securing a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. They cut the gap to fourth-placed Arsenal to eight points with a pulsating 3-2 home victory over Swansea City on Saturday as Arsene Wenger's side slumped to a 6-0 defeat at London rivals Chelsea.
Martinez's charges also have a game in hand over Arsenal as they prepare to travel to Newcastle United on Tuesday and the Spaniard is eager to ensure that his players do not waste the opportunity in front of them.
"We're in a very, very good moment," he said after the weekend win. "Players are fresh, looking forward to every game. We've got nine games to go and we need to make sure that we take advantage of every single point that we can get."
A victory at St James’ Park would mark a fourth Barclays Premier League triumph in a row for Everton, but Newcastle will themselves be looking to build on a run of three wins in their last four top-flight outings.
The stadium ban handed out to boss Alan Pardew following his clash with Hull City's David Meyler did little to hamper them on Saturday as they left it late to seal a 1-0 home success over Crystal Palace.
Papiss Cisse's stoppage-time header gave them all three points to move them up to eighth, with assistant John Carver masterminding things from the dugout in Pardew's absence.
That strike marked a first goal in more than two months for Senegal forward Cisse, and captain Fabricio Coloccini hopes he can now kick on from here. "We are all so happy for him because strikers live to score and he has been a bit unlucky in the last few games," Coloccini told Newcastle's official website. "He had a few chances [against Palace], which their goalkeeper saved, and then missed one from Mapou [Yanga-Mbwia's] cross but he never gave up and hopefully this gives him a lot of confidence."
Ahead of the Everton test, Cisse and his fellow strikers will also be heartened by the fact that matches between these two sides have generally delivered plenty of excitement, with all of the last six encounters featuring three goals or more.
The most recent meeting between the two ended in a 3-2 win for Everton at Goodison Park back in September. The absence of injured top scorer Loic Remy, who will miss out again with a calf injury, could hamper the Magpies - and they will also be missing full-back Mathieu Debuchy with a groin complaint.
Defender Davide Santon remains a doubt due to a knee problem, while Gabriel Obertan is also out with a similar concern.
For Everton, Phil Jagielka is doubtful with a hamstring injury, while a knee problem could keep midfielder Steven Pienaar out of action for the third consecutive match.
The visitors have no other new injury concerns, with long-term absentees Lacina Traore (hamstring), Bryan Oviedo (broken leg) and Arouna Kone and Darron Gibson (both knee) all still unavailable.
Newcastle United (from): Alnwick, Elliot, Krul, Coloccini, Dummett, Haidara, Santon, Streete, S Taylor, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa, Anita, Ben Arfa, Bigirimana, Gosling, Marveaux, Sissoko, Tiote, Sa Ameobi, Sh Ameobi, Cisse, De Jong, Gouffran.
Everton (from): Howard, Robles, Alcaraz, Baines, Coleman, Distin, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stones, Barkley, Barry, McCarthy, McGeady, Osman, Pienaar, Deulofeu, Gueye, Lukaku, Mirallas, Naismith, Vellios.
Match Appointments
Referee: Mike Jones. Assistants: S Child, G Beswick. Fourth Official: C Pawson.