Everton welcome Leeds United to Goodison Park in a huge relegation six-pointer showdown in 2021-22 Premier League.
Victory would see Everton move five points clear of the relegation zone for at least a few hours but stay 16th no matter what.
Leeds meanwhile can climb as high as 13th with a win if Brentford beat Crystal Palace but Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites outscore the Bees by two or more goals.
Team News
Yerry Mina is ruled out for Everton after suffering a quad injury in Tuesday’s defeat at Newcastle United.
Demarai Gray is meanwhile considered a doubt after suffering a hip injury at St James’ Park in midweek.
Tom Davies, Fabian Delph (both thigh), Ben Godfrey (hamstring), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Coronavirus) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (groin) remain absent.
Leeds expect to have Mateusz Klich available despite the Polish player suffering cramp in their 3-3 draw at Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Junior Firpo, Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips (all hamstring), Patrick Bamford (foot) and Sam Greenwood (knee) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Everton have won just one of their last five meetings against Leeds in all competitions (W1, D2, L2).
- Leeds have won just one of their last 13 visits to Everton (W1, D6, L6).
- Raphinha has scored in each of Leeds’ last three clashes against Everton.
- Everton have scored three own goals in the Premier League this season (Lucas Digne, Michael Keane & Mason Holgate), albeit all away from Goodison Park.
- Three of Daniel James’ four league goals for Leeds this season have been scored away from Elland Road.
Prediction
After enjoying a strong FA Cup win on Frank Lampard’s managerial debut last weekend, Everton were certainly brought back down to earth with a bump at Newcastle in midweek with more injury issues and defensive blunders despite threatening well on the attack.
Lampard therefore has decisions to make because he needs to work out a way of developing a defensive style suitable of the current playing squad, whilst also finding a way of minimising the risk of injury within the overall playing style.
Leeds meanwhile were aggressive in their draw at Villa with a great start but importantly didn’t drop energy after conceding three goals in 11 minutes, which was crucial psychology wise because they showed grit to fight their way back into the game for a deserved point.
On that note, tactics will be important here on many levels for both teams because Everton cannot afford more injuries, yet Leeds know that a win is achievable if they go aggressive and ask huge questions of Everton’s defence which could well be key to the result.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Leeds
Result: Everton 3-0 Leeds
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