Prediction: Everton vs Sunderland

16th March 2012

Everton will be hoping to make amends for the embarrassing Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool when they take on Sunderland in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The Black Cats, on the other hand, defeated the Reds last time out, but that doesn’t think they can be considered favourites to win the clash at Goodison Park.

Everton were unlucky not to have hit the ground earlier in the season as they would be probably fighting for European places now, although their recent uptrend in form puts them in good stead before the decisive FA Cup battles. With United, City and Arsenal already out of the competition, the Toffees are now one of the favourites for the trophy and there are no doubts they will give their best to finally win some silverware. The game against Sunderland may be coming at a bad time seeing that David Moyes’ side have just suffered a 3-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby, but just one look at team’s home form will tell us that Toffees indeed have a lot to hope for at the moment. Having won every one of their last five games at Goodison, beating the likes of City, Chelsea and Tottenham in the process, Everton have every right to feel optimistic before the clash with Sunderland, especially as David Moyes will have players like Jelavic, Drenthe, Osman and Cahill fresh for this game after he decided to rest them against Liverpool. Stephen Pienaar, however, misses out, whereas Darron Gibson is a major doubt.

Sunderland have come a long way since Martin O’Neill took over the reigns from Steve Bruce, as the Black Cats needed just a couple of months to climb from the Premier League danger zone to 8th place in the standings. Sunderland recorded an impressive victory over Arsenal to earn a chance to fight for a place in the FA Cup semi-final, although the Gunners were going through a very rough patch at the time and the Black Cats are expected to face a much tougher task at Goodison Park. The biggest problem at the moment is the absence of two key midfielders Lee Cattermole and Stephane Sessegnon, who will be sorely missed in the next couple of weeks. Sunderland did beat Liverpool at home last time out, but their away showings are not nearly as impressive, as witnessed by the 4-0 defeat to West Bromwich few weeks back. The visitors are hoping Nicklas Bendtner will be fit to face Everton, but Kieran Richardson has been ruled out with a calf problem. Wes Brown, Titus Bramble and Kieran Westwood remain sidelined.

Conclusion

Everton have finally stabilized their home form and the fact David Moyes rested several starters in the Merseyside derby shows how serious the Toffees are approaching this game. Sunderland are without several very important players and I seriously doubt they can survive the trip to Goodison.

Verdict: Home win Everton (1)

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker: William Hill