Everton will look to boost their survival hopes with a win away from home when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Everton are without a win in their last six league matches, and they will be under tremendous pressure to bounce back strongly when they lock horns with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Toffees are 17th in the league table, and they cannot afford to keep dropping points if they want to preserve their status as a Premier League club next season. Meanwhile, Brighton have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks as well.
However, they are seventh in the league table, and they are coming into this game on the back of two wins from their last three league outings. The home team will be the favourites here, and it remains to be seen whether they can pick up all three points.
Team News & Tactics
Brighton & Hove Albion
The home team will be without the services of Joao Pedro, Solly March, Julio Enciso, James Milner and Jack Hinshelwood. They are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Bart Verbruggen in goal.
Igor Julio and Tariq Lamptey will start as the full backs. They will look to protect the defence and help out in the attack. Jan Paul van Hecke will start at the heart of the defence alongside Lewis Dunk.
In the midfield pivot, Pascal Gross will start alongside Billy Gilmour. Facundo Buonanotte will start as the central attacking midfielder, and he will look to link the midfield with the attack and create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.
Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma will start as the wingers. They will look to add pace and trickery from the flanks. Danny Welbeck will spearhead the Brighton attack against Everton on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Julio, Hecke, Dunk, Lamptey; Gross, Gilmou; Adingra, Bounanotte, Mitoma; Welbeck
Everton
The Toffees are without Dele Alli and Arnaut Danjuma. They are likely to shape up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Jordan Pickford in goal.
Ben Godfrey and Vitaliy Mykolenko will be deployed as the full-backs, and they will look to keep things compact at the back and help out during counter-attacks. James Tarkowski will start alongside Jarrad Branthwaite at the heart of the defence.
Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil will start as the wingers, and they will look to create goalscoring opportunities for their team mates with their pace and flair. James Garner will start alongside Amadou Onana in central midfield.
The two players will look to add physicality and defensive cover to the side. They will look to break up the opposition attacks as well. Abdoulaye Doucoure will start as the central attacking midfielder and he will add drive and creativity to the side. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line for the Everton against Brighton.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Pickford; Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Onana, McNeil; Doucoure; Calvert-Lewin
Key Stats
- Brighton & Hove Albion have not won any of the last six Premier League meetings with Everton. Everton have won their last two away league games against Brighton.
- Nine of Brighton’s ten Premier League wins this season have seen them score at least three goals.
- Everton have failed to win any of their last eight Premier League games (D4 L4).
- Everton are winless in all 10 Premier League fixtures this season against teams currently in the top seven of the table.
- Everton have gone four successive away games in all competitions without scoring.
Player to Watch
Simon Adingra
The 22-year-old has been in impressive form lately, and he will look to take advantage of Everton’s vulnerabilities at the back. Adingra was outstanding for his country during the African Cup of Nations, and he has carried that form into the Premier League now.
The young winger scored twice against Sheffield United in his last outing, and he could cause all sorts of problems for Everton in the final third. Expect Adingra to step up and deliver the goods again this weekend.
Prediction
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Everton
Neither side are at their best right now, and this is likely to be a close contest. However, Everton are lacking in form and confidence right now. Brighton have enough quality to grind out a positive result at home. The home team is likely to pick up a narrow win here.
Everton will look to put up a fight here, but they are likely to come up short once again. The Hard Tackle predicts Roberto De Zerbi and his charges to eke out a narrow 2-1 win over the Merseyside outfit on Saturday.
