Verdict: Over 2.5 Goals
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmakers: Bet 365
Sunday sees a meeting between two sides that have experienced a turbulent couple of weeks. Leicester sacked Craig Shakespeare and have just hired former Southampton boss Claude Puel, who will take charge of the Foxes for the first time against Everton. The Toffies have managerial issues of their own and are yet to find a replacement for Ronald Koeman, meaning David Unsworth will act as caretaker manager in the interim period. This game will provide an interesting insight into life after Shakespeare and Koeman and will be a good opportunity for both clubs to try and turn their seasons around.
Leicester
On the surface it looks as if Leicester, Premier League champions just two seasons ago, are struggling massively this season. However the Foxes sit in 14th place and have only lost one game this season in all competitions by more than a single goal, and that was against what was, at the time at least, a free scoring Manchester United team. With that in mind Craig Shakespeare can consider himself relatively unlucky not to be given more time to turn his side’s form around.
While there defensive record is by no means stellar there are six teams that have conceded more goals than Leicester this season, one of which is Watford who currently reside in a Europa League spot. 14 goals conceded in nine games is a worrying statistic however, and that will be the main problem that new manager Claude Puel will need to address. Scoring goals is certainly not an issue as the Foxes have found the back of the net more times than any other side in the bottom half, and star striker Jamie Vardy has already bagged five on the season.
Team News
Leicester face very few injury problems and central defender Robert Huth is the only doubt, though he should be able to make it back to full fitness in time for this Sunday game.
Everton
For a club that spent over £100m in the summer with ambitions of qualifying for Europe, and perhaps breaking into the top four, the fact that Everton find themselves in the relegation zone after nine games is bordering on embarrassing. The Toffies are without a win for over a month in all competitions, and currently sit rock bottom of their Europa League group, so it was little surprise when manager Ronald Koeman was sacked this week. Only Crystal Palace have a worse goal difference than Everton so far this season and the Eagles look like they could be turning a corner under new boss Roy Hodgson, which will be a worrying sign for those above them.
David Unsworth will take charge of the Toffies for this game as caretaker manager but it is difficult to see what he will have changed in such a short amount of time. There is no doubt that Everton have some hugely talented players, and with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Rooney, Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford all being brought in during the summer it is surprising that the performances haven’t been better. A lack of pace going forward has been an obvious problem and a lot of pressure has been put on the shoulders of young striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has cut a lonely and frustrated figure at times this season.
Team News
The Toffies will be without Idrissa Gueye for this fixture as he serves a one-match ban following his red card against Arsenal last week.
Ross Barkley, Seamus Coleman and Yannick Bolasie are all still side-lined with long-term injuries, and James McCarthy is unlikely to be fit enough to play the full 90 minutes in this game.
Key Factors to Consider
- Everton have scored just seven times in nine Premier League games this season.
- Everton are conceding an average of two goals per game in the league this season.
- Everton have failed to win any of their away games in the league this season.
- Leicester have only failed to score in two of their 12 games in all competitions this season.
- Jamie Vardy has scored five Premier League goals this season, but has failed to find the net in his last three league games.
Conclusion
Everton’s defensive record this season is downright appalling and David Unsworth hasn’t had enough time to be able to turn that around ahead of this game. Add to this the fact that scoring goals has not been Leicester’s problem – they have netted 12 times in nine league games – and you have a game that should see a good number of goals scored. If I’m taking anybody outright in this one it’s Leicester, Everton are simply not to be trusted right now.
Verdict: Over 2.5 Goals
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmakers: Bet 365
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