Everton V Tottenham Hotspur

Kick-off: Sunday 6^th December – 16:00 GMT

Venue: Goodison Park

Everton

League Position: 16th

Recent Form: DWLLL

A poor season just got worse over the weekend when Liverpool, a team suffering a lull in form themselves, etched their first Merseyside victory of the season in a 2-0 defeat of Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday. With Everton now languishing down in 16^th position, just three points off the bottom three, it’s vitally important that Everton at least put some points on the board against Tottenham as defeat could very well see them spend the remainder of the week in the relegation zone.

Not many thought Everton’s season could get much worse after their home drubbing on the opening day of the season to Arsenal, being humbled 6-1, and matters on the pitch did begin improve slightly during mid September – early October, but a four match unbeaten run consisting of two wins and two draws has been their highlight thus far in what has been a drab season to date.

With the defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, Everton have now lost three successive games in the league. Two of those were away from home, but a hapless run like that can only hinder morale within any dressing room and with Everton’s clearly at a serious low already, God only knows how the players are coping through this critical part of the season for the club. If they aren’t careful then the relegation zone could beckon and a tough fixture with Spurs certainly isn’t what they need right now. However, a win could be the kick in backside they need but after a lengthy trip to Greece in midweek, will the players be fresh enough to beat a dangerous Tottenham side?

At Goodison Park this season, Everton’s record stands at 2-3-2, with their only victories at home coming against Blackburn Rovers (3-0) and Wigan Athletic (2-1). However, a big concern is that sides like Wolves and Stoke City have walked away from Goodison with a share of the spoils and those were teams Everton would have beaten last season, no questions asked. This season, however, Everton are clearly struggling, especially in the absence of Joeleon Lescott. Everton are known for being fairly solid throughout the pitch but several absentee’s has sparked a massive lull in form. The defence without Lescott has conceded 25 goals already this season, while the midfield has lost the ability to dictate the play, with Phil Neville’s ability to cancel out opposing attacks a big miss.

Everton have an injury list as long as their arm so it’s no surprise that their struggling for results. Phil Jagielka was arguably the star at the back for Everton until he ruptured a cruciate ligament, while Everton fans are desperate to see Mikel Arteta back in action. Phil Neville looks set to miss yet another fixture for the Toffee’s while Joseph Yobo is also a doubt. It’s time when the boys need to become men and with David Moyes often resorting to using some of Everton’s younger crop, this old cliché could come into affect on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur

League Position: 3rd

Recent Form: LLWWD

They may as well name the Carling Cup after Tottenham Hotspur as they are generally the most consistent team in recent competitions, however, this wasn’t the case on Tuesday night as Spurs crashed out of their first domestic cup this season, a cup which Spurs have shown many respects in recent seasons so their exit will leave a bitter taste around the Tottenham camp this week. The draw with Aston Villa on Saturday was a decent result if you failed to watch the game but we just so happen to get a brief viewing and Spurs should have won so it’ll be interesting to see how Spurs recover before their trip to struggler, Everton.

We’ll start with Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, a game we feel they pretty much dominated. They conceded an early goal, a scruffy one at that, but Spurs did exceptionally well to recover and absolutely battered Villa in the second half, creating chance after chance. At times it was just like watching a training game, attack versus defence, and Tottenham’s persistence did pay off, albeit slightly virtuously via a Matt Dawson stunner. It was no more then Spurs deserved but were they more clinical in the final third, which they have been in general this season, then they would have won that game.

Although the point at Villa probably wasn’t as satisfactory for Harry Redknapp as it should have been, Tottenham’s performance certainly was. We thought they were sublime. They kept hold of the ball, passed it all around the pitch, their off-the-ball movement was good, their ability to carve open a pretty strong Villa defence was a joy to watch, whilst they created chances with ease. Our only criticism was their lack of composure in the final third. However, their performance did reiterate how far the club in such a short space of time and they really are rapidly becoming a very good little outfit under the guidance of Redknapp.

Spurs actually did alright on Tuesday at Old Trafford, but United were far more clinical then Spurs, the second time Tottenham have come out second in a clinical battle. Spurs did have their chances, which they fluffed.. again, and that will be a concern as Tottenham were looking very potent in attack. Still, the quality up front still remains, the leagues top goalscorer in Jermaine Defoe (11), a reliable Robbie Keane (6), and a sensational and pacey winger in Aaron Lennon, whose pace and trickery often leaves a full-back dead on the spot. Niko Kranjcar has been a worthy accustion, not only aiding and creating chances but also chipping in with a few, also, while Tom Huddlestone provides a defensive blanket over the defence. They are now so much more solid but yet a hundred times more deadly in attack.

Tottenham’s away form this season does need improving, though, if they want to be considered serious top four contenders this season. 3-2-2 is how it looks thus far but we must mention that both those defeats did come in London at Chelsea & Arsenal. However, we must also mention that their victories have come over the league poorest outfits this season; West Ham United (1-2), Hull City (1-5) and Portsmouth (1-2). All three are struggling at the bottom of the league so Spurs have generally come unstuck against any sort of quality when on the road, which, although Everton are lacking in confidence, are still a half-decent opponent so Spurs will need to up their game ahead of their Goodison enocunter.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Everton W: 3 Tottenham Hotspur W: 5 Draws: 2

Draws haven’t been a familiar outcome when these two have clashed but, although Tottenham do edge the head-to-head counter, it’s Everton who have faired better in recent meetings, winning two and drawing two of the previous four clashes. However, funnily enough, Everton haven’t beaten Tottenham at Goodison in five attempts, with Tottenham drawing on their previous two visits to Merseyside while they did record victories the previous two seasons.

April, 2004, was the last time Everton recorded a home win over Spurs so they’ll be eager to make up for lost time. Tottenham, however, will look to build on a four match unbeaten run at Goodison Park. The last two encounters at Goodison Park have finished 0-0, while the previous five fixtures at Everton haven’t featured too many goals, all in fact ending in Under 2.5 Goals.

Match Verdict:- Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

We will sit on the fence in this encounter as we expect Tottenham’s superior form to be cancelled out by Everton’s home advantage. Against Liverpool last Sunday, Everton were the better team but failed to create too many clear cut chances. Tottenham, however, dominated in the second half against Villa and should have scored more then just the one goal. However, neither found the net as many times as they should of last weekend so a similar outcome wouldn’t be at all surprising this Sunday. A big negative for Everton, though, was their Wednesday nigh clash in Greece, winning 1-0 against AEK Athens, although, Tottenham were in action 24 hours earlier in a 2-0 defeat to United. A win in Greece and a defeat in Manchester sort of cancel each other out in a weird and distance travelled way so, if my betting calculations are correct, a draw is on the cards here, although, we actually can’t see Everton losing, for one reason or another.

Match Odds:

Everton – 2.80 WilliamHill

Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

Tottenham Hotspur – 2.65 Expekt

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Draw/Draw (Half-Time/Full-Time) – 5.50 SkyBet