Everton vs Cardiff City
Date: 24/11/2018
Venue: Goodison Park
K/O: 15:00
Referee: Paul Tierney
Everton host Cardiff this weekend as both sides look to improve on their best spells of form this season.
The Toffees have won three of their last five fixtures alongside earning a hard-fought draw against Chelsea on the road, whilst Cardiff have also won two of their last four fixtures and a win away could lift them out of the relegation zone.
Everton’s last three wins have been against Leicester, Crystal Palace and Brighton and Marco Silva seems to have instilled a solid system at Goodison. The side’s 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge was not the team’s best attacking display, but they kept one of this season’s most clinical attacks at bay.
This shows how the Portuguese manager has improved his side’s faults, as defensive frailties were an issue for the Merseysiders at the start of the season. Everton failed to keep a clean sheet until their seventh game against Fulham, yet they have now only conceded four goals in their last five fixtures since beating the Cottagers.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been Everton’s best player going forward this season and has been involved in eight goals, finding the back of the net himself six times and assisting twice. He will be key to unlocking Cardiff’s defence who have conceded 25 goals so far this season. Another player who will be essential to Everton’s attempt to keep chase with the top six is Richarlison.
The youngster struggled to adapt to his role as a lone striker in his first few run-outs, but his two goals against Brighton moved his goal tally to six for the season. His goals have silenced doubters momentarily, and Everton fans will be expecting goals against one of the Premier League’s weakest defences this season.
Everton’s form sees them in the mix for a top six position and they will see this weekend’s fixture as a must-win game if they are to stay in contention. Silva’s side have a tough December which sees them meet Liverpool, Man City and Spurs in a packed Christmas fixture list.
By this point in the season, Cardiff fans are aware that their club may be in a relegation battle come the end of the campaign. However, the Bluebirds have found their best form, winning two of their last four. Victories over Fulham and Brighton showed that they are able to beat teams that could be near the bottom of the table this season as well; a crucial element of any survival bid in the Premier League.
Neil Warnock has stated that he wants to sign two to three players when the January transfer window comes, as they look to add more top-flight quality to their side. Perhaps the veteran manager will want to add to his attack as his side have only scored two goals away from home this season. Warnock may be looking to scrape three points but will realistically look to earn a draw with resolute defending.
Everton’s Richarlison has struggled against physical defences so far in his stint as a striker. If Silva plays him there again it will be the job of Cardiff’s centre-backs to make his game as difficult as possible and play him out of the game.
Cardiff showed their fighting spirit in the win against Brighton as Sol Bamba found the net in the last minute. The Welsh side have proven that they will give any team a difficult game as they seek to survive in their return to the Premier League.
Cardiff’s next three games are against Wolves, West Ham and Southampton, which are games they feel they must take points in. If they can continue their form against Everton it will raise morale going into a vital run of fixtures.
Team News
Everton only have long-term injury absentee James McCarthy unavailable as they were kept injury free during the international break. This may result in an unchanged squad to the one that met Chelsea.
However, Kurt Zouma is eligible to play after the Frenchman was unable to feature against his parent club. The choice between Zouma and Yerry Mina may be Silva’s only difficult choice when it comes to his starting XI.
Cardiff will be without Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who has been injured for lengthy periods. This will not affect Warnock’s squad selection and we could see a similar side to the one that was victorious against Brighton.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Everton (4-5-1): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne; Gomes, Gueye, Walcott, Bernard, Sigurdsson; Richarlison
Cardiff (4-5-1): Etheridge; Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Cunningham; Gunnarsson, Harris, Camarasa, Ralls, Murphy; Paterson
Predicted Result: Everton 3 Cardiff City 0
Everton have started to find good form and perform well against bottom half sides. Cardiff’s poor goal-scoring form away from home makes it difficult to see them breaking down a constantly improving Everton defence.
