‘Newcastle are better than I thought’ - Paul Merson confession and claims Everton must win on Thursday

Paul Merson has admitted that Newcastle are better than he imagined after watching the Magpies’ 1-0 defeat against Chelsea.

Newcastle were unlucky not to get a result at Stamford Bridge and were denied a clear-cut penalty when Trevoh Chalobah dragged Jacob Murphy to the ground. Another away trip on Thursday sees the Magpies travel to Everton, with Frank Lampard’s strugglers only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

Merson claimed in January that it would take ‘a miracle’ for Newcastle to beat the drop but now expects Everton to finish in the bottom three. The former Arsenal winger thinks the Toffees - who have lost eight out of their last nine league games - need to beat Newcastle after their 1-0 defeat to Wolves.

In his weekly Sky Sports column, he wrote: “I was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and Newcastle are better than I thought. They parked the bus but they parked it in a way where they did it very well. Chelsea never looked like winning the game.

“Everton have got to go and win that game now – a draw’s no good. They’ve had some injuries in key places.

“They need Dominic Calvert-Lewin back firing. But they’re sort of in that situation where it’s Everton, never been relegated, so they go out and try to play entertaining, attacking football.

Six of Everton’s final eight Premier League games are: West Ham (A), Man Utd (H), Liverpool (A), Chelsea (H), Leicester (A) and Arsenal (A) - a disastrous run that makes Thursday night’s fixture even more crucial for the Toffees. Merson is concerned by the run-in and thinks their 78-year stint in the top flight could be coming to an end.

“I’m looking at Everton’s fixtures and the way they’re playing and I think they’re in big trouble,” he added. “I think they’re the