MY ACCOUNT
– Everton have won three of their last five home games to nil
– Fulham have lost three of their last five away PL games and failed to score in two
– Recommended Bet: Back Everton Win to Zero
Two teams looking for a boost face off at Goodison Park on Saturday when relegation-threatened Everton host a Fulham team whose season has flatlined for the past month.
On a big weekend for the Toffees’ survival hopes, Sean Dyche’s side play ahead of many of their relegation rivals and can put them under more pressure if they recover from last weekend’s ‘blip’ at Old Trafford.
The Cottagers’ campaign has been in worrying decline with five straight defeats in all competitions denting their prospects of qualifying for Europe.
Marco Silva admits his players are “working hard” to get back on track after a disappointing run of just one win in six, during which only Leicester have scored fewer goals.
Team news
Dyche looks set to restore Vitalii Mykolenko to his starting line-up after Bed Godfrey’s struggles at left-back against United.
Godfrey could switch sides with Seamus Coleman out this week due to a hamstring injury and Nathan Patterson lacking match fitness after returning from injury.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is “training and going along well” in a bid to see first-team action for the first time in two months.
His return, if it comes, would most probably be from the bench, initially, with Ellis Simms in line to join him there after a lacklustre showing last week.
Abdoulaye Doucoure serves the second game of his suspension, meaning one of James Garner or Tom Davies could come in to play alongside Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye in midfield.
Fulham forward Carlos Vinicius is expected to fill in up front in the absence of banned top-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Willian was able to return from his shorter suspension last weekend and was arguably Fulham’s brightest player in the 1-0 home defeat to West Ham.
Kenny Tete and Issa Diop are pushing for recalls at the back after the pair dropped to the bench to allow Cedric Soares and Tosin Adarabioyo to come in at Craven Cottage last Saturday.
The stats
Jordan Pickford made nine saves, including eight from shots taken inside the box, at Old Trafford last Saturday — the joint-most of his time at Everton.
The 3.4 xG that Everton conceded in the 2-0 defeat was the most they have allowed in a Premier League match all season.
The Toffees have only lost two of their past 14 league games against Fulham, although both have come within the last four meetings.
Fulham’s current five-game losing run in all competitions is their longest under Silva, who had lost only 20 of his previous 80 games in charge of the club.
Prediction
If Everton defend as they did at Old Trafford then they will be in a lot of trouble again, particularly in the first half when United mustered 21 shots in total.
Dyche’s decision to deploy a high line was clearly a mistake, but it might not be such a bad idea against a Fulham team without a great deal of pace in attack.
The Cottagers have the worst expected goal numbers in the division across the last six fixtures and are also looking pretty shabby in terms of their defensive displays.
If the Everton boss is right and last week’s 2-0 loss was just a blip, then they can regain the winning thread against out-of-form opponents here.
Their defensive record at home under the ex-Burnley boss also suggests it could come with a clean sheet.
Back Everton Win to Zero at 19/10 with LiveScore Bet.
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