Premier League: Fulham and Everton Get Back to Business

Fulham vs Everton

Fulham hope to put their Cup disappointments behind them when they return to league action with a Craven Cottage six-pointer against struggling Everton.

Marco Silva’s Cottagers have just been dumped out of the FA Cup in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United and that after being edged out of the EFL Cup semi-final by Liverpool. Now they return to the bread and butter of top flight football and Premier League: Fulham vs Everton gives their fans the next challenge to look forward to.  

Sean Dyche’s Everton crashed out of the FA Cup too on Saturday when they fell to relegation rivals Luton Town, and the Toffees have been on a tricky run, with the added threat of another points deduction hanging over the club. The SBOTOP stats team reckons this is a tight, tight game to call, so let’s take a closer look and see if either team has an edge. 

Talking Points

Silva can now finish the job in the Premier League

Fulham put out a much changed team for the FA Cup tie with Newcastle as the manager made seven changes, with big players Willian, Raul Jimenez, Tom Cairney, and Joao Palhinha all rested.

It was a shift in tactics for the Fulham boss, who put out a stronger side in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool, and he was rewarded by a fighting display and a 1-1 draw, which meant the Cottagers lost 3-2 on aggregate.

Back in the Premier League, Fulham are 13th in the table with 24 points, and, while keeping their place in the top flight is a must, a top-ten place is certainly within reach. And a run of games against Everton, Burnley, and Bournemouth is a good chance to accumulate a few more points.

Silva, despite rotating his squad for the FA Cup date with the Magpies, was agitated by the manner of his team’s defeat, as he felt Newcastle’s opening goal should have been ruled out as the ball appeared to have been handled by Bruno Guimaraes, who made the assist.

On the back of a proud night when Fulham gave Liverpool a real scare, the Cottagers’ patched-up side dominated much of the play against the Geordies, with 56 per cent possession and 14 shots to eight, but they only managed two on target, and Eddie Howe’s men were more clinical in front of goal.

“The stats show that we are the most dominant team on the pitch, we started on the front foot,” said Silva. “We were clearly the team who was always closest to scoring goals. Football is not just about that, you have to be ruthless to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Wide man Andreas Pereira started the game, and he might well line up against Everton. He has five assists already this season, and the return of top scorer Jimenez and Willian, who have four goals, will give Silva’s team even more threat in attack.

Dyche will sort set piece problems

After putting together a run of four consecutive wins in December the Toffees have picked up just one point from their last four league games and, make no mistake, they are in a relegation scrap.  

In his preparation for this match Dyche will be well aware that the Cottagers conceded two goals from set-pieces against Newcastle, and that is a weakness his team can exploit. But though the Toffees’ big and powerful players are set-piece experts they had a bad day at the office against Luton on Saturday.

Luton’s 96^th minute winner was scrambled in from a corner and Dyche lamented the way his team conceded their first goal too, when Vitali Mykalenko put through his own goal, but only after Dominic Calvert-Lewin appeared to have been fouled by Luton midfielder Ross Barkley: “The game was a scrappy, awkward, ugly affair,” said the Everton boss. “They got the best side of it with two set pieces – it felt like that type of game.”

Dyche will put the hours in on the training ground ensuring his team is strong in both penalty areas, and in Everton’s recent clash with high-flying Aston Villa, a 0-0 draw, they showed just how difficult they can be to break down.

History

The Toffees have had the better of the head to head Fulham vs Everton results but not by much, with 19 wins to the Cottagers’ 15, though they have failed to win any of the last five of these encounters.

A Bobby Decordova-Reid goal gave Fulham a 1-0 win at Goodison Park on the opening day of the league season and then Marco Silva’s men reached the EFL Cup semi final with a penalty shootout win over the Merseysiders. 

In terms of recent results neither side is in particularly good shape. Fulham are without a win in four, but had two victories before that run, while Everton’s only win in the last six games came in the FA Cup third round against Crystal Palace. Still, both clubs can produce Premier League 2024 highlights on any given night.    

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 betting odds give the hosts a slight edge with the Cottagers at 2.26 and Everton at 2.76; there is not a lot to choose between these two teams and there is some merit in the draw at 3.10.

A 1-1 draw is another alternative at 5.80, and I do think Everton will make this a battle of attrition, while the hosts must be patient and avoid giving away too many set pieces.      

 

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