Prediction: Everton vs Arsenal

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 11/4

Bookmaker: bet365

It’s time to stand up and be counted as the busy Christmas period turns into utter chaos with the games coming thick and fast. The Premier League is back with another full slate over the course of the next few days, with one of the most intriguing clashes being Everton vs Arsenal which is set to go down at Goodison Park. It’s been a turbulent few months for both clubs to say the least, but now is the time for them to really get their season off the ground.

Everton

Everton mean business if their heavily rumoured appointment of Carlo Ancelotti is anything to go by, as the Toffees attempt to edge their way up towards the top half of the table following a disastrous first half of the campaign under Marco Silva. They’ve got a string of strong squad players that are capable of doing some great things for the club, but they just don’t seem to have gelled as a unit up to this point. The game against Arsenal this weekend serves as the perfect opportunity for them to do that following an odd few weeks.

Team News

Sigurdsson and Sidibe will hope to return but Walcott, Schneiderlin, Delph, Digne and Baningime will all likely miss out.

Arsenal

The expectation is that Mikel Arteta, who played for both of these clubs, is going to be taking over as Arsenal’s new manager in time for this game. He’ll be replacing Freddie Ljungberg and while it seems like a risk, the Gunners had to do something in order to put a stop to their slow yet steady decline. They’ve got the potential to run straight through Everton, but it’s pretty obvious to see that the first team squad is completely devoid of any confidence – and it’ll take a big effort to rediscover that, especially through the core of their defence.

Team News

Ceballos, Bellerin, Tierney, Holding and Sokratis are all out, with two of the other big doubts being Kolasinac and Xhaka.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting back in April, Everton beat Arsenal 1-0.
• Everton have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six games.
• Arsenal have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six games.
• Everton have scored nine goals and conceded 13 in their last six games.
• Arsenal have scored nine goals and conceded 12 in their last six games.

Conclusion

Both sides are looking for a fresh new approach to things, but we also expect them to be quite trigger shy in the early stages of their new operations. Both teams will get good spells of possession and brief moments of magic, which we believe will lead to a score draw. Given the circumstances that both clubs find themselves in that probably wouldn’t be the worst result in the world, as they attempt to claw their way back to relevancy – which is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 11/4

Bookmaker: bet365