Everton host Wolves at Goodison Park in a festive six-pointer in the battle for Premier League survival.
Should Southampton fail to beat Brighton elsewhere, victory would see Everton move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Wolves meanwhile can move off the foot of the table with a win and go as high as 18th at maximum.
Team News
Everton could welcome Dominic Calvert-Lewin back into contention following his recovery from a hamstring injury.
James Garner (back), Andros Townsend and Mason Holgate (both knee) remain absent.
Jordan Pickford, Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye could all feature following their safe returns from the World Cup.
Wolves could have Boubacar Traore available following his recovery from a knock which kept him out of their Carabao Cup win against Gillingham.
Jonny (hamstring) faces a late fitness test but Chiquinho, Sasa Kalajdzic (both knee) and Pedro Neto (ankle) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Everton have lost three of their last five meetings against Wolves (W2, L3).
- Wolves have won just two of eight previous Premier League visits to Goodison Park (W2, D2, L4).
- Each of last towo meetings between Everton and Wolves at Goodison Park ended in a 1-0 result, with both teams winning one match each.
- Frank Lampard’s Toffees have scored in just one of their last six league matches (W1, D1, L4), which came in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in late October.
- Wolves have claimed just two points away from home this season (D2, L5).
Prediction
With just four points from their last seven matches and some teams having already made managerial changes, Frank Lampard is a very lucky man to still be in charge of Everton especially after their lacklustre defeat at Bournemouth in their last competitive game.
Wolves meanwhile have spent the last month adapting to their new era under Julen Lopetegui which seems to have had the desired effort, with a more attack-minded performance against a difficult Gillingham defence despite needing two late goals to get the win.
This clash though is likely to represent a more difficult task given Wolves’ poor form at Goodison Park but with a win under their belt, I do fancy Wolves to come out with confidence against a potentially rusty Everton team who need to produce more desire and quality than seen before the break.
Their last two meetings on Merseyside though have been close scrappy encounters and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more of the same again, although Wolves’ earlier return could well be the difference if they can hit the ground running quickly.
Prediction: Everton 0-1 Wolves
Result: Everton 1-2 Wolves
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