Everton will look to build on their battle-hardened point against Manchester City when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Goodison Park on Tuesday in their first Premier League game of 2023.
The Premier League action is rolling in thick and fast after the World Cup break. Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion will continue their busy festive schedules on Tuesday evening when they take on each other at Goodison Park.
Everton gave themselves a huge boost when they earned a feisty and hard-fought point as they held a rampant Erling Haaland and defending champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last Saturday to end what was a tough 2022 on a slightly positive note.
That result means under-fire Frank Lampard certainly bought himself some more time. And the Everton boss will be looking to build on that on Tuesday against Brighton. It looked like Lampard and co. had turned the corner after a good summer in the transfer market, with Everton going seven games unbeaten after kicking off the campaign with back-to-back losses to Chelsea and Aston Villa.
But their form has deteriorated since then, with only one victory in their previous ten games, casting a dark cloud over Goodison Park again. A loss here and other results going against them elsewhere could easily see them slipping back into the drop zone.
Brighton, meanwhile, are enjoying a sensational season and are one of the best travellers in the league, having picked up 13 points on the road in the Premier League this season, the most by any team outside the European berths.
A win for Brighton could take them just one point adrift of sixth-placed Liverpool as they continue to play exciting, free-flowing football under new boss Roberto De Zerbi. They enter this game off the back of a tough defeat on New Year’s Eve when league leaders Arsenal visited the Amex Stadium and eventually ran out 4-2 winners on the night.
But the hosts did not fold completely and looked set to mount an incredible comeback when they thought they had made it 4-3, only for the goal to be disallowed for the slightest of offsides. The corresponding fixture last season produced an absolute goal-fest thriller, with Brighton coming out on top of Everton in an entertaining affair. The Hard Tackle now takes a closer look at both teams.
Team News & Tactics
Everton
The Grand Old Lady. 2023. pic.twitter.com/rtKCfDkzlm
— Everton (@Everton) January 2, 2023
Frank Lampard has received mixed news on the team news front. Anthony Gordon and Yerry Mina are poised to return to the squad after illness kept them out of Saturday’s draw with Manchester City.
However, midfielder Amadou Onana will be unavailable for selection for Everton due to a one-match suspension for Everton after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at the Etihad, while midfielder James Garner is ruled out with a back injury.
The return of in-form centre-forward Ellis Simms to Lampard’s squad is another positive for Everton, with the 21-year-old recalled to Goodison Park following a successful loan stint at Sunderland, where he scored seven goals in 17 appearances. He will bolster the Toffees’ offensive threat.
Having fielded a defensive-minded team formation against Manchester City, Lampard is expected to retain the same 5-4-1 setup when Brighton come visiting, with all the regulars set to return to the lineup.
Jordan Pickford will line up in goal, with Ben Godfrey, Conor Coady, and James Tarkowski forming the three-man central defensive rearguard, flanked by the attacking wing-backs Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
In Amadou Onana’s absence, Abdoulaye Doucoure will slot into the central defensive midfield position alongside the experienced Idrissa Gueye, flanked by Alex Iwobi and Demarai Gray, who was the hero for Everton with that second-half equaliser at the Etihad on Saturday.
That was his fourth goal of the season, and he will hope to get on the scoresheet in back-to-back games here. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will continue to spearhead the line for the Toffees.
Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Pickford; Patterson, Godfrey, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Doucoure, Gueye, Gray; Calvert-Lewin
Brighton & Hove Albion
Danny Welbeck and Adam Webster are both doubts for Brighton on Tuesday night, while world champion Alexis Mac Allister is back available for selection after returning from historic World Cup triumph with Argentina.
Roberto De Zerbi has taken little time to implement his possession-based system, with a lot of focus on holding the ball in midfield. To be fair, Graham Potter had already laid the foundations for becoming a passing juggernaut. But there is clearly a lot more impetus to attack and directness about them under the new boss.
De Zerbi will set his side up in his preferred 4-2-3-1 and could rotate his side due to the quick turnaround between the Arsenal game and this one.
Welcoming back our World Cup winner! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Bb2MoZmf2B
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 2, 2023
Robert Sanchez will continue between the sticks for the Seagulls, hoping to pick up a clean sheet. Lewis Dunk and Levi Colwill will feature at the heart of Brighton’s backline. Colwill, in particular, has been impressive in the new season, seamlessly replacing the injured Webster and catching the eye with his ball-playing abilities and athleticism.
Left-back Pervis Estupinan has also proved to be an excellent summer purchase and is a marauding presence on the left flank in every sense of the word. Tariq Lamptey did not have the best of the games against Arsenal and will be looking to bounce back here, slotting at right-back.
Moises Caicedo and Pascal Gross will form the midfield pivot, with Adam Lallana providing a creative outlet from the attacking midfield position. Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma will be given the task of stretching the pitch out on the flanks and causing a fair few problems for Everton’s back three as they continue to feature on the right and left-wing, respectively.
Leandro Trossard will pose a major threat to the defence, with the Belgian international being the Seagulls’ top scorer with seven league goals so far this season. He will be looking to add to that with a strike here against Everton.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Lamptey, Dunk, Colwill, Estupinan; Caicedo, Gross; March, Lallana, Mitoma; Trossard
Key Stats
- Everton have won four of their five Premier League home games against Brighton; however, they did lose the corresponding fixture last season.
- Brighton have lost their first league game in just one of the last 13 calendar years (W7 D5), losing 1-0 at home against Wolves in 2016.
- Everton have lost three of their last four home Premier League games (W1), losing the last two in a row.
- The hosts have picked up just eight points at home this season. Only Southampton (6) have collected fewer.
- Everton have scored just 13 league goals this season. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers (10) and newly promoted Nottingham Forest (12) have scored fewer.
Player to Watch
Kaoru Mitoma
The 25-year-old Japanese attacker has impressed a great deal for club and country in 2022, with the winger excelling in recent months in the Premier League and also making his mark at the World Cup for his country.
The former Union Saint-Gilloise ace, who cost the Seagulls a measly £2.5 million in 2021, has, on more than one occasion, ran defences ragged in the English top-flight. He was a massive part of sparking his side into life with his goal and his good work early in the opener.
He was very unlucky to see a potential second goal ruled out, which caused Arsenal plenty of problems. Elusive, speedy, creative, and picking out pockets of space to exploit, he will be a menace to handle for Everton defenders.
Prediction
Everton 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Everton may have given their survival bid a huge confidence boost by snatching a well-earned point against Manchester City, but there is no hiding from the fact that they are in horrible form and might be brought back down to earth by a Brighton team looking to bounce back and could be too hot to handle for the hosts with their high energy levels.
Even when Arsenal were clinging on, it showed how effective Brighton were at pressing and pestering them. And despite conceding poor goals, they are very dangerous on offense. With Brighton in fine form on their travels and Everton one of the worst performers at home this term, it should not be a surprise that they turn on the heat and come away with a comprehensive 3-1 victory on the blue half of Merseyside.