Home and Away: Toffees too sticky for Magpies tonight

2Jan 2013

Jonno Turner focuses on two British ties to boost the bank this Wednesday.

Trees down, waistline up, detox in, fry ups out - it's back to normal for most of us after a busy festive and new year period.

But not in Scotland. With an extra bank holiday north of the border, there's a full calendar of football to choose from, and there's plenty of value around to kick start 2013 in style. And we're off to Scotland for the first of our two picks today - focusing on happenings at McDiarmid Park, as St Johnstone host bottom side Dundee in the SPL. The home side go into this clash in decent form having lost just one of their last half a dozen outings, and boss Steve Lomas will be desperate for his side to continue that good run here. Eight unbeaten from 10 on their own patch will have boosted confidence in Perth - and 14 goals scored in that time suggests that the Saints do possess the necessary firepower to punish their guests. Dundee travel to this encounter in the midst of a miserable run, and have not won in five ahead of this game - having lost four of those. A 4-1 thrashing at Inverness in their last trip away from Dens Park showed up the Dark Blues' flaws, and boss Barry Smith will be desperate to arrest a slump which has seen his side go nine points adrift at the foot of the table. The visitors have struggled to adapt to life in the top tier following promotion from the First Division last campaign, and look set to drop back down unless they can engineer a miracle turnaround in the second half of the season.

Bet 1: St Johnstone (HOME) @ 1.61

Newcastle welcome in-form Everton to St James Park in the Barclays Premier League this evening - and David Moyes' side will be keen to chalk up three points and heap more pressure on the top five.

The Toffees sit in sixth place as we enter the new year, and just one loss from eight outings suggests that their momentum could lift them even higher over the coming weeks.

A 2-1 win at West Ham in their last trip on the road indicates that Everton are more than capable of grinding out those tough away wins, and just one loss from seven away from Goodison Park in the bigger picture makes them a decent back tonight.

The visitors ran Chelsea close in a narrow 2-1 defeat on Sunday, and welcome back influential midfielder Marouane Fellaini following his recent suspension.

Newcastle line up on their home patch having lost five of their last six, and a humiliating 7-3 drubbing at Arsenal last week will have left many in the North East red-faced.

Boss Alan Pardew will be worried that his side have shipped 14 goals in four games, and there is no doubt that Moyes will have pinpointed the Toon defence as a weakness to exploit.

And speculation around the departure of star striker Demba Ba will not help the hosts at a time when they really need to pull together.

Bet 2: Everton (AWAY) @ 2.34