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Everton and Leicester seeking greater consistency in bottom half clash
Everton 1-1 Leicester
Tournament: Premier League 2022-2023 | Venue: Walton, Liverpool, Goodison Park
Bet NowAs the season progresses, you get the sense that Everton and Leicester will both suffer through a season of ups and downs regarding their fortunes.
Everton look the more solid of the two right now and Frank Lampard looks like the right man for the challenge of restoring the Toffees to a team that can compete for those top eight places.
It is unlikely to happen this season, of course, due to the inconsistent nature of their results. Just three wins from their 13 games shows that much work is still to be done at the club, although there are encouraging signs.
As for Leicester, they have been taken back to square one just as it looked as though their season was about to take off. A narrow defeat to Manchester City has seen them drop back into the bottom three ahead of this game.
With tough games against Everton and West Ham coming up, you wonder if they will stay there until after the World Cup.
Reasons to be cheerful:
Unbeaten in their last five league games against Leicester
Toffees have kept four clean sheets in their last eight games
Reasons to be fearful:
Haven’t scored enough goals this season
Were reliant on their goalkeeper not to lose last weekend
One positive for Everton is that they have now kept four clean sheets in their last eight games, including their last two.
It was 18 months ago that they last kept three in a row, and that will be the challenge for these players here. In truth, they needed another excellent performance from Jordan Pickford to earn a point against Fulham.
At the other end, Frank Lampard admits that his team don’t score enough goals to compete higher up the table. They have a negative goal difference, with only 11 goals scored from their 13 games.
Everton will continue to look over their shoulder right now. Despite sitting in a comfortable 12th position, the nature of the league this season means that they are only three points ahead of Leicester in 18th.
A win would do them the world of good here.
Star Man – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The dynamic striker has been slowly regaining his old form since coming back from injury. He scored in the win over Palace and will have plenty to prove over the coming months.
Reasons to be cheerful
Are one of the league’s top scorers despite 18th position
Only narrowly defeated by City last weekend
Reasons to be fearful
Could slip further towards the bottom with defeat
Poor record against Everton in recent seasons
Despite their defeat to Manchester City last weekend, there have been signs that this Leicester team are starting to click.
The likes of Wout Faes have settled in nicely at the back, the defender signed to replace the outgoing Wesley Fofana. He was fabulous as wave after wave of City attack pounded on Leicester’s defence last week.
Before that, they kept two clean sheets and scored six goals as they beat Wolves and Leeds. They need to continue that momentum here, otherwise they will be slipping back to square one.
The Foxes don’t have the best record against Everton of late, although they do have a good habit of scoring at Goodison Park – they have netted away to Everton in each of their last 12 meetings.
Star Man – James Maddison
Scoring goals has not been Leicester’s problem this season and Maddison has been a huge part of that. Going forward, there are not many better than Maddison right now.
Often a tight game between these two
Both teams to score
A draw the most likely result
Although Leicester haven’t beaten Everton in their last five meetings, these two teams have a habit of drawing league games.
Over the years, 15 of the 32 meetings between these two have ended all square, due to the nature of the way these teams play.
Both teams are scrapping for points right now, Leicester more so than most. The Foxes have the better attack but Everton’s defence has been rock solid of late.
It’ll be a close one, but a draw is on the cards.
Everton 1-1 Leicester
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