Newcastle United boss delivers classy Everton verdict after 'incredible' points deduction claim

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe is expecting a big test for his side against Everton at Goodison Park on Thursday evening (7:30pm kick-off).

Newcastle head into the game having lost just one of their last 10 Premier League matches, beating Manchester United 1-0 at St James' Park on Saturday. But The Magpies have won just one league game away from home this season, an 8-0 win at Sheffield United back in October.

Everton currently sit in the relegation zone following a record 10-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules. Still, a win for Sean Dyche's side on Thursday would take them out of the bottom three.

A 10-point deduction would have been enough to relegated The Toffees in each of the last two seasons. But Howe believes the side have made significant progress under Dyche this season despite obvious challenges.

"They have made big strides as a team," Howe said. "They are very, very competitive and the biggest challenge for us is to make sure we compete as they do.

"They're a very strong, physical team. They've got obvious strengths and will pose questions for us defensively that we will have to answer.

"Then they've got the crowd and that dynamic and the situation with the points deduction and what that has done for them collectively so we're going to have to respond to a lot of questions posed to us." 

Last month, a statement from the Premier League read:  “The commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5million, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105million permitted under the PSRs.

"The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.”

Reacting to the news, Howe previously told reporters: “The Everton situation came out of the blue, I think, for all of us in terms of the verdict. They've got an incredible manager there who has done brilliant things previously in difficult circumstances and I'd back Sean to do the same again."