It feels like we've had a fair few 'quickfire double' fixtures this season, perhaps more so than usual.
Nottingham Forest and Leeds played each other at the City Ground twice in the space of a few days back in August. Brighton headed to the Etihad on both Wednesday and Saturday, and Monday night sees a meeting of Everton and Newcastle despite the fact they played each other on Thursday.
The Carabao Cup works in weird and mystic ways. You could make an argument that it's beneficial from a betting perspective to have a game in such recent history but we must keep in mind the importance some clubs place on the secondary cup competition in English football.
It's improving in recent years as more and more view it as 'realistic silverware' and yet others will most likely place it as an inconvenience. The Premier League, as always, is the most important.
Everton won 3-1 in that contest on Thursday. But David Moyes has a thin squad to work with - he only made two changes from the XI which lost at Arsenal. Rotation isn't a luxury and it's certainly one not afforded to him as is the case with other managers in the division.
I actually don't mind this as a Monday Night Football. Newcastle are in a peculiar situation as they aim to push back to the top five but don't necessarily have a clear plan in place to do so and Everton, well, Everton are Everton.
It's a game which could be an alright watch in that you can easily see all three outcomes happening. From a betting perspective though, I just don't like it.
Neither side stands out on any notable metric. Both attacks have been pretty flat throughout the eight games played so far with Newcastle sat 13th for total shots attempted and Everton in 10th.
Defensively, Everton have conceded the fewest fouls with Newcastle ninth despite the fact they're a pretty aggressive side out of possession. In terms of tackles, both are also in the bottom half.
You could look to Under 2.5 goals at a shade of odds-against yet there's not enough confidence there to say the game will definitely see little action.
Neither has excelled on crosses attempted but I wouldn't mind a play on over 10.5 corners at a general 10/11 and above. Newcastle took ten themselves when chasing a way back into the game on Thursday.
It's a selection led by game state with the somewhat unpredictable nature of the match result market beneficial to one side finding themselves behind. However, it would probably have to be Newcastle in front of a home crowd to see the line go high enough.
Instead, I'm sitting this one out with a NO BET. Nothing stands out to the extent of making it a staked selection. Consider the corners if you are looking for an angle, but I'm saving my pennies for the European action in the days which follow.
Odds correct at 16:05 GMT (30/10/26)
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