Under fire Everton travel to newly-promoted Brighton in what promises to be a fascinating encounter on the south coast. Ronald Koeman’s men look to be lacking the potency of Romelu Lukaku up front and are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League following a home defeat to Burnley last time out. Chris Hughton’s Seagulls sit in 14th place on the same amount of points (7) and have picked up their 2 Premier League victories on home turf.
English Premier League – Brighton v Everton – AMEX Stadium
Sunday 15th October 2017
Kick-off: 13.30 GMT
Brighton – Best Odds – 12/5 (Bet Victor)
Everton – Best Odds – 7/5 (Boyle Sports)
Draw – Best Odds – 23/10 (Bet 365)
Brighton
With 7 points from 7 games Chris Hughton’s men are showing the type of form that suggests there could be a relegation battle on the cards this term. 6 of their 7 points have come on home turf (against West Brom and Newcastle) and they seem to relish performing in front of their home fans. The absence of Tomer Hemed could be felt here as he serves his suspension so Pascal Grob will be the man the Seagulls will be hoping can do the damage against the Toffees.
Everton
Everton are in disarray currently and desperately need to pick up their first away win of the campaign -their only point on the road came on match day 2 at Manchester City. The Toffees have conceded 12 goals already this term despite the big money acquisitions of Jordan Pickford in goal and Michael Keane at centre back and will need to stop the rot as soon as possible. Wayne Rooney was left out against Burnley but should be given a starting birth here.
Head to Head
This is the first meeting between these two sides since 1983 and Everton hold a 5:2 lead in the previous meetings with 4 draws also taking place between the two teams. The return match in the Premier League will take place at Goodison Park will take place on March 10th.
Odds and Predictions
Everton have only scored 1 goal on their travels this term.
Both teams to score – NO – 7/10 with William Hill.
Neither team has been in great form this season and goals have been hard to come by.
Under 2.5 goals in the game looks savvy at 4/7 with Sporting Bet.
Brighton have been difficult to break down at home – only losing once at the AMEX.
Match to end as a draw looks good value at 23/10 with Bet 365.
This could be a very cagey encounter with both teams looking to play it safe.
The match to be a draw at half time looks good value at 8/13 with Betfair,
Score Prediction
Brighton 0 – 0 Everton – 13/2 with Ladbrokes.
Top Betting Tip
Both sides cannot afford to lose, especially Everton and they could end up cancelling each other out. Under 2.5 goals in the game and match to finish as a draw pays 5.35 with Sporting Bet.