MY ACCOUNT
– Everton have lost four of their last five home games
– Southampton have lost six of their last seven Premier League away games
– Recommended bet: Draw and both teams to score
St Mary’s will be a happier place after Southampton’s back-to-back victories in the cup competitions, with Wednesday night’s shock defeat of Manchester City stunning supporters and easing the pressure on manager Nathan Jones.
However, relegation still looms large for the rock-bottom Saints and this trip to Merseyside could prove key in deciding the fate of both them and 18th-placed Everton.
Defeat for either side would put them in serious trouble — Everton could slip three points adrift of 17th place while Southampton could drop as far as six points from safety.
The final whistle will signal the half-way stage of the Premier League campaign for both clubs, but could it also signal the death knell for the survival hopes of one?
Team news
Everton centre-back Michael Keane remains out with a knee injury and is joined on the sidelines by Nathan Patterson, with the full-back out until mid-February with a medial ligament injury.
James Garner will be unavailable until early February due to a back injury and fellow midfielder Alex Iwobi also looks set to miss out after injuring ankle ligaments.
Attacker Andros Townsend could still be a few weeks from returning from a knee problem.
Southampton full-backs Juan Larios and Tino Livramento remain absent through injury and centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap is out for a couple of weeks with a knee problem.
Theo Walcott also misses out with a calf problem and reserve goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has an ankle sprain but Stuart Armstrong should return after being rested for the cup games.
The stats
Everton have already beaten Southampton this season, winning 2-1 at St Mary’s in October, and have not lost any of their last 18 home games against the Saints, winning three of the last four.
While Southampton have beaten Premier League duo Manchester City and Crystal Palace in the cup competitions in their last two outings, they have won only one and lost 10 of their last 13 Premier League matches, losing each of the last six.
But Everton’s form is little better — they have claimed just one win and two draws from their last 10 league games.
Even more worrying for manager Frank Lampard is his team’s form at Goodison Park, as the Toffees have lost four of their last five home games.
They were unfortunate to lose to Wolves on Boxing Day but were outclassed by fellow strugglers Leicester and were woeful last time out in a 4-1 defeat to Brighton.
However, Southampton have lost seven of their nine league away trips this season and were slightly fortunate in their victories at Leicester and Bournemouth.
Prediction
While there should be an asterisk placed next to Southampton’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City given the champions’ rotation and questionable focus, that shock success will have lifted a Saints squad who were starting to look devoid of belief.
Victories over Palace in the FA Cup and City in the Carabao Cup may count for nothing in terms of their league placing, but two wins in matches the Saints were expected to lose will have boosted confidence ahead of this trip to Goodison Park.
Everton’s cup exploits will have only harmed their self-belief as last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup followed November’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.
But Premier League performances are the key marker and neither Everton nor Southampton have been able to perform under the pressure of a relegation scrap — adding both teams to score to a Bet Builder makes sense given how nervous the two defences have looked.
And, with neither defence looking capable of shutting out their opponent and both managers likely to focus on holding a point rather than chasing a winner if scores are level late on, a score draw makes most appeal.
Back the draw and both teams to score, available at 14/5 with LiveScore Bet.
