Everton welcome Watford to Goodison Park as both teams look to finally find their first Premier League goals of the season, having both drawn blank last weekend.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesEverton will be without Morgan Schneiderlin as he serves a one match ban after being sent off against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Leighton Baines and Fabian Delph (ankle) however are set to return but Andre Gomes is ruled out after suffering his own ankle injury at Palace.
Watford could have Adalberto Penaranda available after the Venezuelan sat out last weekend’s home defeat to Brighton with a thigh injury.
Nathaniel Chalobah (fitness) and Dimitri Foulquier (calf) are also set to feature in the squad, as Danny Welbeck (ankle) and Tom Dele-Bashiru (fitness) again miss out.
Form
Everton come into this game off the back of a goalless draw against Crystal Palace, in which Schneiderlin was sent off.
Watford meanwhile lost their opening match 3-0 at home to Brighton which saw Abdoulaye Doucoure open the scoring with an own goal, before Florian Andone and Neal Maupay struck to seal victory for the Seagulls.
Stat Attack
- Everton have lost two of their last five meetings with Watford (W2, D1, L2).
- Both teams have scored at least twice in three of their last four clashes at Goodison Park, with two of those occasions finishing as 2-2 draws.
- The last two 90th minute goals in this fixture have both come at Goodison Park and scored by Everton’s left-back, as Leighton Baines scored a 3-2 winner in November 2017 before Lucas Digne rescued a late point last December from a free-kick to earn a 2-2 draw.
- Everton have taken seven points from their first home games across the last three seasons (W2, D1).
- Watford have earned seven points from their first away games across the last three seasons (W2, D1).
Prediction
This should be a competitive game because both teams have a point to prove after underperforming last weekend and I know that both teams are capable of bundling in the goals when at their best.
Throw in the fact that these meetings at Goodison Park tend to be thrillers, I am expecting two strong performances with plenty of goals if on top form.
Prediction: Everton 2-2 Watford
Result: Everton 1-0 Watford