On Saturday, 27th April, Everton shall host Brentford as part of the 35th round of the Premier League. The Bees are in high spirits with no losses in their past five matches, whereas the Toffees spectacularly triumphed over Liverpool last Wednesday and are now eight points clear from the relegation zone.
Despite the Football Association docking eight points from Everton due to financial irregularities, the club still stands a solid chance of top-division survival next year. Currently, the Liverpudlians are sitting at the 16th spot in the Premier League table, eight points ahead of the relegation zone. During April, the Toffees picked up a good form, losing only one of their last five games, emerging triumphant thrice, and drawing a match once. The Blues were crushed 6-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but bounced back to fight two matches gallantly against Nottingham Forest (2-0) and Liverpool (2-0) on their home ground. Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin marked Everton's first home turf victory in the Merseyside derby in 14 years, effectively dampening the Reds' title ambitions this season.
After Saturday's encounter against Brentford, the team is set to clash with Luton and Sheffield United. The forthcoming weeks will allow Seán Dyche's men to secure their survival. In Everton's line-up, central defender Patterson, strikers Betu (3 goals) and Dobbin, and experienced Dele Alli are missing; also club captain and defender Coleman's future remains uncertain. Following his goal in the Liverpool match this week, Calvert-Lewin (six goals) should spearhead this weekend's attack, supported by wingers McNeil (3 goals and 6 assists) and Harrison (3 goals and 3 assists). Idrissa Gueye will compete with André Onana for a defensive midfielder spot, while Ashley Young might occupy the left-back position.
Occupying the 15th position in the Premier League table and being ten points clear from the relegation zone, Brentford is concluding this campaign without a hitch. After a tough winter, Thomas Frank's team recently pulled away from the red zone: they haven't lost any of the last five matches. Initially, the London side drew with Manchester United (1:1), Brighton (0:0) and Aston Villa (3:3) and then beat Sheffield United (2:0) and Luton Town (1:5) last weekend. The first half brace from Yoane Wissa was followed by goals from Ethan Pinnock, Keane Lewis-Potter, and Kevin Shea in the second half. Importantly, the red-and-whites are only 14th in the away table (14 points in 17 away matches, 25 goals for, 29 goals against).
The team looks forward to matches against Fulham, Bournemouth, and Newcastle in the next rounds, so the coaching staff might give playing time to their reserves. Considering the Londoners' personnel losses, this won't come as a surprise; central defenders Mi, Hiki, centre-midfielder Henry and Dasilva are injured. Englishman Ivan Toney (4 goals in 13 matches) hasn't participated in the last two matches due to a minor injury and is likely to remain on the bench on Saturday. Worth noting that on-loan Neil Maupay from Everton is ineligible to play against his parent club and will have to watch the match on TV. The attack's leading positions will be taken by Mbeumo (8 goals and 5 assists) and Wisa (10 goals), while Reguilon will regularly be spurring things on the left flank.
The Londoners have only managed to triumph in three of the last eight encounters with Everton across all competitions, losing the last two in the Premier League. The first leg this season ended with the Toffees winning 3-1 away.
None of the last ten Premier League head-to-head games at Goodison Park have ended in a draw, but the streak might break this weekend. Both teams have had a good run this April, essentially assuring their Premier League statuses for the next year. Hence, neither side would hasten events on the pitch. My prediction is a draw.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Manchester City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9:2 | 9 | |
2 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7:0 | 9 | |
3 | Brighton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6:2 | 7 | |
4 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5:1 | 7 | |
5 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4:2 | 7 | |
6 | Brentford | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 6 | |
7 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4:4 | 6 | |
8 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5:4 | 5 | |
9 | Nottingham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 5 | |
10 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6:3 | 4 | |
11 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7:5 | 4 | |
12 | Fulham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 4 | |
13 | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4:5 | 3 | |
14 | Manchester Utd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 3 | |
15 | Leicester | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 3:5 | 1 | |
16 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 1 | |
17 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 2:7 | 1 | |
18 | Wolves | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 3:9 | 1 | |
19 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 1:5 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 2:10 | 0 | |
1 | Newcastle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 | |
2 | Brentford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 | |
3 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 4 | |
4 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 | |
5 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
6 | Brighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
7 | Tottenham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 | |
8 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
9 | Manchester Utd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 3 | |
10 | Nottingham | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
11 | Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
12 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
13 | Leicester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Ipswich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | West Ham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:5 | 0 | |
17 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
18 | Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:1 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 | |
2 | Liverpool | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 | |
3 | Aston Villa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 | |
4 | Brighton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 4 | |
5 | Bournemouth | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 | |
6 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
7 | Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 | |
8 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 3 | |
9 | West Ham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
10 | Newcastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
11 | Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
12 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 1 | |
13 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Wolves | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Brentford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | Manchester Utd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
17 | Leicester | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
18 | Ipswich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:4 | 0 |
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