Paul Merson adds to Nick Woltemade pile-on as he predicts who will win on Saturday - Newcastle United or Everton
Newcastle United host Everton in an old-school non-televised 3pm kick-off at St James' Park on Saturday.
The Magpies come into this one in good form and should be seen as favourites to win this game, as Everton come into the game off the back of three straight defeats.
Newcastle had a midweek fixture once again, however, and that freshness could work to Everton's advantage, even though Eddie Howe did what he could on Tuesday night to rotate his squad.
After a poor performance on Tuesday night, Nick Woltemade has come under fire from fans and pundits despite Eddie Howe trying new things with the forward to try and get the best out of him.
Paul Mereson has opted to kick Nick Woltemade while he's down
Paul Merson has added to the criticism in his score prediction for Sportskeeda today, focusing on Nick Woltemade more than the actual game itself.
"Both Newcastle and Everton are stuck in mid-table positions. At this rate, I don't expect either of them to qualify for European football next season.
"I thought Newcastle were unlucky against Manchester City last weekend. They did cause City some problems in that game. Eddie Howe and his team need to start putting together a run from here. It's been a bit of a stop-start season for Newcastle.
"Nick Woltemade is being made to play out of position because he hasn't got that pace. Newcastle are a counter-attacking team with Anthony Elanga, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy in it. When you put Woltemade as the centre-forward among those players, you slow the team down.
"Yoane Wissa has also been nowhere near his old self, with injuries not helping his case since the move to Newcastle. I'm still going to give them a chance here because they are playing at home.
"Prediction: Newcastle United 2-1 Everton"
Paul Merson probably has the score spot-on
We certainly don't disagree with anything Merson said there, and we even expect that his prediction will be spot-on.
Bournemouth and Fulham both beat Everton 2-1 before Manchester United added their third straight defeat by beating them 1-0. So 2-1 seems about right as we aren't likely to keep a clean sheet because we have forgotten how.
We also expect that Nick Woltemade will find himself back on the bench for this one after Tuesday's outing.
