Newcastle must take full advantage of the shambles that was once a great club to shove Everton to the very brink of Premier League extinction and bring the feelgood factor back to Tyneside after the bad taste of Chelsea. Ruthless is the name of the game.
United need their big guns back regardless of the defiant performance at Stamford Bridge and need to go for the jugular. Ryan Fraser must return if possible, Allan Saint-Maximin if possible, Joe Willock if possible, Joelinton of course.
The Mags have never let in more than one goal a game during their last 10 fixtures dating back to Christmas so if they can successfully chase goals then they can pick up three points. The Toffees are in the claggy!
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The sacking of Rafa Benitez and glamour appointment of Frank Lampard has changed not a thing. Having started the season aiming for the top - Everton were among the front runners after winning four of their first six - they are now dredging up unwanted records at the bottom.
They have accumulated just 22 points from their first 26 games of the season. It's their lowest return ever at this stage in a top flight season. They have in the process racked up five defeats in six league matches over only 42 days under Lampard to completely kill any honeymoon period. A 3-0 victory over lowly Leeds are the only points Everton have managed to put on the board since his arrival.
And they still have five of the current top six to play - Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and West Ham. Only Watford and Norwich have lost more games than Everton's 16 this season, only four clubs have conceded more goals than their 47. Brittle or what?
If four away games on the bounce was tough to contemplate for Newcastle then this is an opportunity to get back to winning ways. Remember their only defeat in the last 10 league fixtures came through the outrageous decisions of referee and VAR at Chelsea. The relegation fight-to-the-death looks like three to go down from four and if Newcastle want to improve on their nine-point gap then this is the time to strike. There is still work to be done to fend off any chance, however remote, of falling back to where they once belonged.
Norwich look doomed - dead men walking - and while Burnley and Everton have games in hand over them and Watford as Lampard says that is only an advantage if they are won. Make sure this one is not Newcastle. Everton's 'superstars' have failed to turn an inevitable tide.
Lampard signings Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli have proved luxuries. Van de Beek has merely emphasised why he failed to get a regular start at Man U while Ali has been restricted to the subs' bench. United by comparison recruited well in January. Dan Burn et al.
Lampard will have spent this week trying to turn amiable losers into a wounded animal ready to bite back and that is the biggest danger to United. However if the Mags can start quickly with the same hunger, organisation, relentless pressing, and desire they have shown regularly of late then any early Blues fire can be dowsed and a reward reaped.
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