da brdice： Southampton and Everton meet in a pivotal moment this Sunday.
da esport bet： Amid growing unrest and dwindling faith in summer appointment Mauricio Pellegrino, defeat to a side who have won just one of their last six Premier League fixtures would spiral Saints into relegation reckoning and could even lead to calls for the Argentine to resign. At the same time, a win for David Unsworth’s team would go a long way to bringing some much-needed stability to Goodison Park – whereas another loss would only increase the discontent we’ve seen from Toffees fans this season. So, who will come out on top in a fixture that could well be season-defining for both teams, and potentially even career-defining for both managers? We don’t have a crystal ball unfortunately, but here’s everything you need to know ahead of kickoff…
Head-to-Head
From 36 meetings in the Premier League, it’s Everton who have just edged it in terms of wins with six more than Southampton. Accordingly, they’ve scored more goals and kept more clean sheets, while incurring the same number of red cards. That said, it’s still been a pretty even fixture down the years; no side has ever won more than two fixtures in a row, and even that has happened on just five occasions. Last season, the points were shared evenly with one win apiece. Perhaps the biggest positive Southampton can take into Sunday’s game is that their home win rate against the Toffees stands at a healthy 50%.
Referee influence – Kevin Friend
The good news for the neutrals is that Kevin Friend likes to let the game flow as much as possible, something highlighted by the statistics. Indeed, he ranks in the bottom five out of the Premier League’s 18 referees for fouls per game, fouls per tackle and yellow cards this season – suggesting aggressive challenges will be allowed and the game won’t be disrupted by constant whistle blowing. That arguably benefits Everton more than Southampton; they’ve committed the most fouls and third-most tackles of any Premier League side this season and will expect to do the majority of the defending once again on Sunday – especially after taking just 31% possession against Crystal Palace last time out. Another home boost for Southampton, however – all but 17% of the matches Friend has officiated this season have ended in home wins.
Expected starting XIs
Pellegrino has stuck with his 4-2-3-1 system for the vast majority of the season and the Saints are more than likely to set up that way once again this weekend. Throughout the starting XI, however, there are some real points of contention; it remains to be seen if Wesley Hoedt keeps his place at centre-back after a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out, while Mario Lemina faces a race for fitness to make the line-up, but Oriol Romeu’s suspension – a big loss in the engine room – could well force Pellegrino to risk the summer signing. Similarly, Sofiane Boufal just hasn’t delivered when in the starting XI this season – don’t be too surprised if the Moroccan international is dropped.
David Unsworth is faced with a whole raft of injury problems ahead of the trip to the south coast, while Oumar Niasse has been retrospectively suspended for winning a penalty against Crystal Palace last weekend. The expectation is that Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line instead, with fellow youngster Ademola Lookman and Aaron Lennon joining him in attack from the flanks. We could see the likes of Mohamed Besic, Davy Klaassen or even Wayne Rooney given a runout in central midfield though if enforcer Morgan Schneiderlin doesn’t recover from an injury – with youngster Tom Davies suspended. Barring that, though, it’s unlikely Unsworth will make too many changes from Everton’s last Premier League outing after resting the majority of his first string against Atalanta on Thursday.