Team news takes shape for Newcastle's Carabao Cup trip to Everton

Newcastle United are dealing with a handful of fitness concerns as they prepare to face Everton in the Carabao Cup last 16, with head coach Matthias Jaissle having some selection calls to make ahead of Thursday's trip to Merseyside.

Chronicle Live reports that Jaissle has already made his decision on Nick Pope for the tie, noting the goalkeeper is yet to feature competitively for the Magpies this season after being told he has no long-term future on Tyneside (Chronicle Live). The same outlet adds that Newcastle are also nursing two separate fitness doubts heading into the game (Chronicle Live).

Newcastle World goes into more detail on the squad situation, reporting that Jaissle has issued fitness updates on Lewis Miley and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, with the pair among those affected following a training ground issue (Newcastle World). According to Newcastle World, two players are ruled out entirely while two more are rated as doubts for the trip to Goodison Park (Newcastle World).

The Shields Gazette paints a slightly more extensive picture, stating there are five doubts and two players ruled out altogether for the Carabao Cup clash (Shields Gazette). That suggests the squad concerns may be a touch wider than Newcastle World's report indicates, though both agree that at least two players will definitely miss out (Newcastle World) (Shields Gazette).

Away from the team news, the Shields Gazette also carries comments from former Newcastle and Everton striker Duncan Ferguson, who has given his verdict on Jaissle and issued something of a plea regarding the Magpies boss ahead of the cup tie (Shields Gazette). Ferguson's dual connection to both clubs adds a bit of extra interest to a fixture that already carries some history given his playing spells at Goodison Park and St James' Park.

Taken together, the reports point to a Newcastle side heading into Thursday's last-16 tie with selection headaches to solve, with Pope's situation in goal seemingly settled by Jaissle even if he remains out of favour, while the exact number of absentees from injury varies slightly depending on which outlet you read.

Written with the help of AI, using the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.