Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has indicated that Lukas Hornicek will continue in goal for the Carabao Cup tie at Everton, with Nick Pope set for a place on the bench. Jaissle told Chronicle Live that he wants to field a strong XI for the match, which offers a place in the quarter-finals.
Goalkeeping plans for the cup tie
Jaissle had used Ewen Jaouen as his cup goalkeeper in the earlier rounds, but the young Frenchman is out for another month with a hamstring issue. During Jaouen's absence, Jaissle did not hand Pope a chance against Millwall in round three and stuck with Hornicek.
Speaking ahead of the Everton match, Jaissle said: "We want to win the match, independent of who is playing. We still have two days to make the final decision, but you can be sure that we want to go with a really strong XI into this game."
Rotation and stability
When asked whether Pope would be left out because of his uncertain future, Jaissle explained his approach to rotation. "It is always a balance right? To rotate, but also, on the other hand, to find stabilisation," he said.
"We rotated in the centre-back and forward positions quite a lot, so now it is also time to bring more stability in more matches to have consecutive wins. Therefore, we need to have the right balance, and therefore, you can't expect too many changes."
Injury concerns for the squad
Newcastle go into the game with Tino Livramento ruled out with a knee injury, while there are doubts over Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Lewis Miley. Fernandez-Pardo missed the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace due to a sickness bug, and Miley has suffered a fresh hamstring injury.
Jaissle said: "These two players are still doubtful. There are question marks if they can make it. There are still two days, with both we don't want to take any risks. Hopefully, they will soon be back."
