The penultimate round of matches in the Premier League prior to Christmas concludes at Goodison Park on Monday night when Everton take on Swansea in what is still a big match but perhaps not quite as strong in magnitude as it would have been a month ago.
Everton have put a run of form together to pull away from danger in the top flight but Swansea are bang in it and they could really do with a result of some kind from this one.
Everton
For a dozen games this Everton side couldn’t get anything going. There appeared a lack of a plan and then the longer the slump went on a lack of effort seemed to appear which was not good but as is often the case when Sam Allardyce takes over a football club, things have turned around and they are very much looking up rather than down.
Everton always had the squad to be doing a lot better than they were, assisted by a summer spending spree and while there are parts of their playing set up that needs addressing in January we are beginning to see the side we should have seen at the start of the campaign. A defensive solidity has been the big difference in them.
Swansea City
Over the last couple of years it has looked like purely a matter of time before the axe falls on the Swans’ Premier League life and it is looking increasingly like it will fall this year. We’ve seen with sides like Sunderland and Aston Villa in recent times that there are only so many times you can cling to survival. It would hurt even more if they go this season with Cardiff in a good place to replace them.
You don’t have to look too far to see why Swansea are bottom of the league table. Heading to Merseyside they have scored just nine goals in 17 matches in the league which is a truly pitiful record. A side who are bottom at this point are usually rancid at the back but actually Swansea have conceded fewer than anyone outside of the top seven so if they can find a way to score goals they might not be doomed yet.
Team News
Yannick Bolasie is available after a lengthy spell on the injured table but there will be no Leighton Baines or James McCarthy while Ross Barkley, Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori remain out injured.
Swansea have declared Wilfried Bony fit to face the Toffees despite his injury against Manchester City last week. Kyle Bartley will definitely miss the game. Tammy Abraham will be pushing for a start.
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Betting
I don’t expect a high scoring thriller here. We have two sides who don’t take many risks and who are not all that open and expansive taking each other on so I’m expecting goals to be in short supply. Swansea goals don’t come along too regularly anyway while Everton aren’t as fluent as they want to be yet. That all points to under 2.25 goals to me.
I think there could be a bit of value in Everton winning to nil as well. Only Liverpool have scored against Everton since Sam Allardyce took over and with Swansea struggling for goals this bet might just be about whether the Toffees can find the net in the 90 minutes. At 13/8 I’ll have a smaller punt that says they can.
Tips
Back Under 2.25 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
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Back Everton to win to nil for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Boylesports
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