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Coach Cautious Of Livewire Lukaku
Written by Newcastle Utd
John Carver has warned his defenders of the quality of Romelu Lukaku, as United travel to Everton
By Emily Bulmer
John Carver has warned his defenders of the quality of Romelu Lukaku, as Newcastle United travel to Everton on Sunday in the Barclays Premier League (4pm kick-off).
The big Belgian striker has been in fine form of late for a Toffees side who are having to juggle both domestic and Europa League commitments.
And having netted four goals in his last five against the Magpies, Lukaku has a threat which has to be dealt with this weekend at Goodison Park, according to the head coach.
"Everton are in a difficult position having to balance the demands of the Premier League along with their European football," said Carver.
"It's demanding from a physical point of view and generally only the teams with big squads can cope well with that, which is maybe why Everton are struggling at the moment.
"But Romelu Lukaku is a big strong lad, he's very powerful. He's a good player and he will definitely be a big threat for them going forward.
"He did a fantastic job for West Brom when he was there and he's starting to score goals again at Everton so it's our job to limit that threat."
Everton are currently 14th in the top flight table and just six points above the drop going to the weekend's fixtures.
And, having witnessed an anxious home crowd at Goodison Park in the Europa League this week, Carver believes his troops can go to Merseyside and play without fear.
"I was actually at the Dynamo Kiev game and the atmosphere was not nice at Goodison - it was pretty daunting actually," he added.
"There was a lot of pressure on Everton in the first half, but once they got an equaliser they dealt with it and I think that they dominated the second half.
"I've got to say I think they showed a lot of character to get themselves back in to the game and come out the other end with a win.
"I'm not worrying about any pressure on us, if anything I think all the pressure is going to be on Everton on Sunday.
"I've told the lads that they need to go an express themselves. It's very important that they continue to give 100 per cent in every game and not let (the season) fizzle out."