Southampton FC vs Everton FC, Premier League 2020-2021, Today Match Prediction

Southampton FC vs Everton FC Match Prediction & Analysis

The part which James Rodriguez has played in Everton’s fantastic start to the season, rising to the top of the league ahead of local rivals Liverpool, has been nothing short of excellent.

By linking up once again with manager Carlo Ancelotti, the Colombian has shown his quality is as sharp as ever and has been a catalyst for improvement at the club. That’s why his injury this weekend will be unwelcome for The Toffees.

Their opponents have shown improvement of their own recently, bouncing back from defeats in their first two matches by winning two of their next three and earning a thrilling draw at Chelsea.

They’ve started to recover some of their form from last season, with top scorer Danny Ings once again finding his feet in front of goal.

This should be an entertaining match.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Southampton FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): WLLDW

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Confidence will be high after thrilling 3-3 draw at Chelsea

     Danny Ings is showing top form once again

Reasons to be fearful:

     One or two injury concerns to deal with

     Opponents are the league’s form side

There will have been alarm bells ringing in manager Hasenhuttl’s ears after two defeats from their first two matches, going down tamely to Crystal Palace and Tottenham.

However, their recovery has reminded us of the Southampton of last season, playing good, attacking football and with Danny Ings scoring more often than not.

They will be delighted in how they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 against Chelsea last weekend, their manager showing tactical awareness by changing formation and playing more directly to change things around.

Ings now has four goals this season, with others like Adams and Vestergaard chipping in. Unfortunately, the Saints will have to do without winger Djenepo through injury.

Everton will be another tough fixture for them, but have injury problems of their own and this could be a good time to play them.

Star Man – Danny Ings

Who else? The England striker has to shoulder a heavy burden for the Saints, but seems to relish scoring goals.

Everton FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): WWWWD

Reasons to be cheerful

     Calvert-Lewin is the league’s best player on form

     Will have bags of confidence sitting at the top of the table

Reasons to be fearful

     Injuries to Rodriguez and Richarlison are a big blow

     Keeping clean sheets has been a problem

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that his side can cope just fine without star players James Rodriguez and Richarlison, who have both performed excellently this season so far.

Unfortunately, it may not be quite so easy to do when they have been so critical to their success. Potential replacements, such as Bernard and Alex Iwobi are good, but not quite up to the same standard.

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin in such fine form, however, the chances are that Everton will still find their way to goal sure enough. The red-hot striker is already on 10 goals for the season and has forced his way into the England team.

If Aston Villa and Liverpool claim points before Everton play on Sunday, The Toffees could be sitting in third place, and it will be interesting to see how they react.

Star Man – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Arguably as important to Everton as Ings is to Southampton, DCL is a goal-machine on current form