Everton look to boost their chances of European qualification in a Premier League clash against relegation-battling Leeds United.
Victory would lift Everton up to seventh in the table, whilst Leeds can climb to 15th if win by three goals or more.
Team News
Jack Grealish was set to return for Everton from suspension but is now ruled out indefinitely with a fractured foot.
Carlos Alcaraz (unspecified), Idrissa Gueye, Iliman Ndiaye (both international duty), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jarrad Branthwaite (both hamstring) face late fitness checks.
Michael Keane (suspension) and Tim Iroegbunam (groin) remain sidelined.
Leeds have no fresh injury concerns to report after their 1-0 win at home to Fulham.
Joe Rodon (fatigue), Jayden Bogle (calf) and Sebastian Bornauw (adductor) could be available but Dan James (hamstring) remains absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Everton host Leeds at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday 26 January at 8pm GMT, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Everton have lost one of their last six meetings against Leeds (W3, D2, L1).
- Leeds have won just one of their last five trips to Everton (W1, L4), although this is their first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
- Everton have kept clean sheets in four of their last five home matches against Leeds, except for a 1-0 loss in November 2020.
- Everton are winless in their last three league matches at home (D1, L2).
- Leeds won their only previous Monday Night Football fixture this season, which coincidentally came at home against Everton on the opening weekend of the season in a 1-0 victory.
Prediction
Now with a serious chance at putting themselves back in the hunt for European qualification with back-to-back wins after beginning to look mid-table at best prior to their clinical win at Villa, Everton need to take their opportunities clinically again and defend resiliently once more.
Gueye and Ndiaye’s returns therefore have come at the ideal time because Grealish is a huge loss in terms of their attacking ability on the flanks given his impact, so Ndiaye needs to come in and make an immediate impact to fill that void whilst David Moyes maybe should dip into the transfer market if possible.
Leeds meanwhile absolutely dominated Fulham in the second half of their last outing yet their end product wasn’t clinical enough until the end, so they were pretty lucky to get the win in injury time but they will need to be more creative if they’re to break down Everton’s equally resilient defence.
On that note, I can’t help but expect this to be another cagey scrappy game just like their clash at Elland Road was but this time both teams probably will scrape a point.
Prediction: Everton 1-1 Leeds
Result: Everton 1-1 Leeds
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