Everton host Brentford at Goodison Park in a must-win Premier League clash.
Should Leeds and Burnley both win earlier on Sunday, Everton could enter this match back in the relegation zone looking for a win to rebound back out of the bottom three.
Brentford meanwhile can go 10th with a win if Leicester, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all fail to win elsewhere earlier on Sunday.
Team News
Fabian Delph is ruled out for Everton with a small muscle injury suffered in Wednesday’s goalless draw at Watford.
Ben Godfrey (thigh) and Donny van de Beek (groin) are doubts but Yerry Mina (calf), Nathan Patterson (ankle) and Andros Townsend (knee) remain absent.
Brentford could welcome Sergi Canos and Ethan Pinnock back from hamstring injuries, after last weekend’s win over Southampton came just too early for the pair to be match fit.
Frank Onyeka, Saman Ghoddos (both ankle) and Mathias Jorgensen (quad) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Everton lost their only previous Premier League encounter against Brentford by 1-0 result in November 2021.
- Brentford have won just one of their last seven league visits to Goodison Park (W1, L6).
- 12 goals have been scored in Everton’s last two home matches against Brentford in all competitions, with the Toffees netting 10 goals to Brentford’s two goals.
- No Everton player has produced more passes this season than Michael Keane, with the defender having created 1,161 passes in 30 league appearances.
- Four of Brentford’s eight headed league goals this season have been scored between Pontus Jansson and Ivan Toney, who have both headed in twice.
Prediction
Having pulled themselves back from the brink in recent matches, Everton will be slightly disappointed with Wednesday’s goalless draw at Watford because they just lacked urgency at times, which showed in lacklustre finishing so a reaction is needed if they start this match back in the relegation zone.
Brentford meanwhile are safe but were absolutely clinical in last weekend’s win over Southampton in which they pressed well with compact defensive squeezing when the Saints attacked, which is something that they might need to replicate here if Everton decide to come at them aggressively.
This match though is the first of two must-win home games this week for Everton because if they lose both and Burnley and Leeds both get wins, I fear for Frank Lampard’s Toffees heading into their final day visit to Arsenal.
On that note, I do expect them to fight to deliver a strong performance to try and put safety in their own hands in their last two matches, yet Brentford are in strong form at present and looking to finish the season on a high so my gut instinct is that we might see a slight surprise result.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Brentford
Result: Everton 2-3 Brentford