Everton welcome Southampton to Goodison Park in a huge relegation six-pointer showdown in the battle for Premier League survival.
Victory or at least a draw could be enough to see Everton out of the relegation zone, although they could still move out of the bottom three with a defeat if West Ham suffer a heavier defeat elsewhere.
Southampton meanwhile can move off the foot of the table with a win if Wolves suffer a loss elsewhere.
Team News
Alex Iwobi is ruled out for Everton after he suffered an ankle injury during their FA Cup defeat at Manchester United last weekend.
Nathan Patterson (medial ligament), James Garner (back), Michael Keane and Andros Townsend (both knee) remain absent.
Southampton could hand new signing, Mislav Orsic his Premier League debut since the Croatian joined from Dinamo Zagreb – prior to their FA Cup win at Crystal Palace last weekend although he did feature in their shock Carabao Cup win over Manchester City in midweek.
Carlos Alcaraz too could make his debut after joining in midweek but he is waiting on his visa and work permit, which casts doubt over whether he will be available for selection.
Alex McCarthy (ankle), Valentino Livramento, Armel Bella-Kotchap (both knee), Juan Larios (adductor) and Theo Walcott (calf) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Everton welcome Southampton to Goodison Park on Saturday 14 January in a 3pm GMT kick-off, albeit untelevised in UK.
Stat Attack
- Everton have lost two of their last seven meetings against Southampton (W4, D1, L2).
- Southampton are winless in their last 17 league visits to Everton (D5, L12).
- Four of Southampton’s last five draws in league clashes away at Everton have finished 1-1, except for a 0-0 draw in October 2003.
- All three of Demarai Gray’s league goals for Everton this season have been scored after half-time, with two of those goals scored at home.
- Defeat would see Southampton suffer seven consecutive league defeats for the first time in the Premier League era.
Prediction
Although last weekend’s FA Cup exit at Manchester United was always going to be a difficult game, Everton should be proud of their performance because they pushed Utd all the way even at 2-1 down but now need to quickly focus their attention on their Premier League survival fight.
Southampton meanwhile finally produced an aggressive performance with solid defending in their midweek Carabao Cup win over Manchester City, which means that they now enter this match with strong momentum after two consecutive wins in different competitions.
Goodison Park though has been a bogey ground for the Saints but with Everton’s defence looking lacklustre despite their attacking progress, I feel like this is a game which Southampton should look to attack with pace if they want to get a huge win and boost their survival ambitions.
Everton though won’t make this easy but the momentum seems to be with the Saints so I fancy the visitors to edge this battle.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Southampton
Result: Everton 1-2 Southampton
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