Everton welcome Brentford to Goodison Park in a mouth-watering all Premier League tie in Fourth Round of 2021-22 FA Cup.
Victory would see Everton qualify for the Fifth Round for a second consecutive season, whereas Brentford are chasing a spot in the Last 16 for the first time since 2018-19 season.
Team News
Dominic Calver-Lewin is a doubt for Everton as he recovers from a knee injury and won’t be risked until he is declared match fit by club doctors.
Alex Iwobi (international duty) and Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) could be in contention but Tom Davies (thigh), Fabian Delph (thigh) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (groin) remain absent.
New signings, Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek are cup-tied after featuring for Tottenham and Manchester United respectively in the Third Round.
Brentford could welcome Frank Onyeka into contention after he returned early from international duty after Nigeria’s exit from Africa Cup of Nations in the Round of 16 stage.
David Raya (knee), Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry (both head) and Mathias Jorgensen (hamstring) could also feature but Tarique Fosu (hamstring), Julian Jeanvier (knee) and Josh Dasilva (hip) remain ruled out indefinitely.
New signing, Christian Eriksen won’t be available as he continues to rebuild his match fitness after joining on a free transfer.
Stat Attack
- This is the first-ever FA Cup meeting between Everton and Brentford, although Everton lost their only Cup clash against Brentford 4-3 on penalties in 2010-11 League Cup after a 1-1 draw.
- Everton have won just one of their last four meetings against Brentford in all competitions (W1, D1, L2).
- Brentford have won just one of seven previous visits to Everton in all competitions (W1, L6).
- Everton have won just two of their last five all Premier League ties played at home in the FA Cup (W2, L3).
- Ten of Brentford’s 16 goals in all cup competitions this season have been scored by the combination of Marcus Forss (6) and Bryan Mbeumo (4).
Prediction
With Frank Lampard now in charge, this is a difficult game to call for Everton because they will have a new manager bounce mentally but a lot of work is still needed to re-instil confidence in a leaky team who are still adapting to his tactics and style.
Lampard though can be pleased with how his new team performed last time out in their loss to Aston Villa with huge defensive improvement on top of counter-attacking, although they did need to build intensity throughout the match which can easily be punished if start too slowly.
Brentford meanwhile were simply outplayed by Wolves in their last outing although defensive communication needs to improve on top of clinical finishing, which could well be important to rebuilding their confidence after four consecutive losses.
On that note, I am expecting a fierce fight because both teams have different points to prove although Brentford also have an away hoodoo at Goodison Park to overcome, yet their Cup form has been strong so I fancy them to just edge it here.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Brentford
Result: Everton 4-1 Brentford