England Premier League
Saturday 4th February 2023
Kick off at 12:30pm GMT
Venue: Goodison Park
Match Preview:
The first game in a busy Saturday could well see a potential cracker as Everton return home to take on Arsenal. On paper one could look at this fixture, glance at the table and ask what is all the fuss about but there is plenty of it going down at Everton who really need to try and avoid defeat.
Of course teams that have been playing Arsenal this season have found it rather hard to avoid defeat and Everton have already lost 11 times from 20 games this season. The Toffees are in another relegation battle just like last season and come into this game in 19th place. The fans are protesting and blaming the board for the poor form but when that happens the buck always stops at the manager and Frank Lampard was given his marching orders last week. In has come Sean Dyche who made a name for himself in charge of Burnley for 9 years. He did a decent job too guiding the club from the Championship to finishing in a European spot in the Premier League, and his win percentage is 10 more than Lampard’s. The jury will be out on Dyche though and like every manager they want to give the fans something to shout about in their first game in charge but unlucky for him that his struggling side will be up against the league leaders.
Everton’s last game ended in defeat against West Ham and they have lost their last 3. But home form is a real worry and the club have the second to worst record in the league having won just 8 points from a possible 30. The Toffees have lost their last 4 here which is their worst run in 64 years.
Arsenal are 5 points clear at the top and have a game in hand over 2nd placed Manchester City. These are amazing times for the club and they were not phased too much when City knocked them out of the FA Cup winning 1-0 last weekend. It is clear that Mikel Arteta’s side are going full out to win their first league title in 19 years. Form has been very good with 4 wins and one draw from their last five and they still have only faced one defeat which came away to Manchester United. The Gunners continue to look impressive and are scoring goals against quality sides too including beating Tottenham 2-0 and Manchester United 3-2 in their last two games.
Team News:
Everton: James Garner is only 50/50 to make this game due to his back injury. Ben Godfrey could return from a knee injury and will be assessed. However Michael Keane looks set to miss out again due to the same problem. Nathan Patterson is 2-3 weeks away from a return with his knee injury.
Arsenal: The latest update on Gabriel Jesus is that he could return at the end of the month. Reiss Nelson and Mohamed Elneny remain sidelned long term.
Everton vs Arsenal Head to Head:
Last season Everton won this fixture 2-1.
4 from the last 5 meetings has seen both teams to score.
Arsenal have not won at Everton since 2017.
Everton vs Arsenal Prediction:
It cannot be understated that these are worrying times for Everton. Farhad Moshiri seemed to hint that players would be brought in for this winter window but in the end no one came and the club sold Anthony Gordon so in fact they finished the window the weaker for it. Everton are of course at home and one would expect the fans to get behind them and there should be an uplifting atmosphere having Dyche in charge, a new manager and a new beginning we should expect the team to give their absolute all.
But if Everton need more worries they should avoid looking at who has the best away record in the league, it is of course Arsenal with 25 points won from a possible 30 and that is a staggering statistic. This is a huge came for the Gunners who should go 8 points clear and the day after City will have a tough game away to Tottenham, drop points their and Arteta’s side would have a huge advantage.
Everton vs Arsenal Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (-1 Arsenal) at 1.63
Anytime goalscorer: Martin Odegaard at 3.00
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