Newcastle United got drawn out of the hat against Everton in the Carabao Cup fourth round draw.
A huge bonus was the surprise decision to give United fans an allocation of 7,732 tickets for the game.
The Carabao Cup rules state that away clubs should get at least 10% of the stadium capacity and that meant at least 5,200 tickets in the 52k Hill Dickinson stadium.
For whatever reason though, the Merseyside club infuriating the Everton fans by handing Newcastle United supporters around 15% of capacity, around 50% more away tickets than they were obliged to give.
That isn’t the only sizeable bonus that Newcastle United have potentially been handed though.
When the Carabao Cup fourth round draw was made, both Liverpool and Everton were handed home draws.
What swiftly developed was a realisation that due to when the other match commitments for the scouse clubs and their opponents were taken into account, it meant Liverpool v Chelsea would have to be played on Wednesday 28 October and Everton v Newcastle on Thursday 29 October. Any other dates would have meant one or more of the four clubs having to play two matches only 48 hours apart.
By playing on the Thursday, it puts Everton and Newcastle United in a unique position.
As the quarter-final draw will be made on the Wednesday night after the conclusion of the Liverpool v Chelsea match, Everton and Newcastle United will know the identity of their last eight opponent before they play (it was the same in this fourth round draw for Manchester City and Norwich, their match on the Thursday night and the fourth round draw made on the Wednesday night, so they knew they’d have Brighton at home in the last 16 before they played their third round game).
Obviously there are a number of other possibilities such as knowing they would face an away match at say Arsenal or Manchester City if winning on the Thursday night. However, Everton and Newcastle United could also potentially know that if getting through the last 16 round, they could be for example be at home to a League One club for a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. Bradford and Peterborough are both third tier clubs and they face each other in the last 16.
What an extra incentive that would be for Newcastle United to get past Everton, knowing that only a home game against a League One team would stand between them and a fourth Carabao Cup semi-final in five seasons.
I still can’t believe the incredible job Eddie Howe did at Newcastle United and especially when it came to the League Cup. In the 60+ years of the competition, Newcastle United had somehow managed to only reach the semi-final stage on one previous occasion, when defeating Tottenham on the way to losing to Man City in the 1976 final.
Then suddenly in four attempts at the competition, Eddie Howe made Newcastle United finalists, quarter-finalists, winners, then finally semi-finalists last season.
Matthias Jaissle has continued the Howe legacy with two League Cup wins so far, another two would take Newcastle United into the semi-finals yet again and fans dreaming of glory once again.
I think NUFC have at least a toss of the coin chance to get past Everton and then with the luck of the draw who knows what could be possible…
The full Carabao Cup fourth round schedule:
Tuesday 27 October – Bradford v Peterborough (7.45pm) Sky Sports+
Tuesday 27 October – Fleetwood v Arsenal (8pm) Sky Sports Football
Wednesday 28 October – Man City v Brighton (7.30pm) Sky Sports+
Wednesday 28 October – Sunderland v Brentford (7.45pm) Sky Sports+
Wednesday 28 October – Fulham v Palace (7.45pm) Sky Sports+
Wednesday 28 October – Bournemouth v Villa (7.45pm) Sky Sports+
Wednesday 28 October – Liverpool v Chelsea (8pm) Sky Sports Football and ITV
Thursday 29 October – Everton v Newcastle United (7.45pm) Sky Sports+
The complete list of the remaining Carabao Cup rounds when matches will be played:
Round Four: w/c 26 October 2026
Round Five: w/c 14 December 2026
Semi-Final First Leg: w/c 11 January 2027
Semi-Final Second Leg: w/c 1 February 2027
Final: Sunday 21 March 2027