Everton faced Newcastle in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday, with Jack Grealish absent from the squad after a disciplinary breach. The BBC reported that the England winger was dropped by the club over what it described as a "breach of club discipline." ESPN also reported the omission, noting Grealish had been left out of the matchday side.
Sky Sports carried live coverage of the tie, including updates, team news and line-ups. Newcastle United confirmed their own starting eleven for the match, stating that the manager had made one change from the previous selection.
The fixture drew wide attention, with The Guardian running a live blog of the fourth-round meeting and Diario AS providing live score, stats and goal updates. TribalFootball published predictions, betting odds and best bets ahead of kick-off, while LiveScore reported that Newcastle's coach faced a rotation decision before the game.
The Grealish decision was the main pre-match talking point, with outlets including Vanguard also reporting that the winger had been excluded from Everton's League Cup squad because of the disciplinary matter. Everton had not, in the material reviewed, given further detail on the nature of the breach.
With the cup tie under way, attention now turns to how Everton set up without Grealish and whether Newcastle's single change affects their approach.
