Tag: Everton

Europa League Preview February 26th

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Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham and Celtic are in action in the Europa League on Thursday as they bid for a place in the last sixteen. Although this competition is the poor relation of the Champions League, it can still provide plenty of entertainment as the Celtic versus Inter Milan tie illustrated last week.

Inter cruised into a 2-0 lead before Celtic hit back and a see-saw game ended 3-3. The Italians won’t be taking anything for granted in the second leg and look a solid bet to go through. Italian teams are famous for their ability to defend slender leads so it was surprising to see them ship three goals at Celtic Park. Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio scored twice in the first leg and has been rested this week. He is worth supporting in the goalscorer markets.

Everton will be going through the motions when they host Young Boys with a 4-1 first leg lead. Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture but was unable to produce the same clinical finishing in the Premier League at the weekend as the Toffees scrambled a 2-2 draw at home to Leicester. They shouldn’t need him tonight as it is virtually a dead rubber and one to avoid, betting wise.

Liverpool still have work to do in Turkey against Besiktas with only Mario Balotelli’s controversial penalty to defend. The arrogant Italian grabbed all the headlines in a dour encounter at Anfield and it would be no surprise to see him heading for pastures new in the summer. Besiktas aren’t anything special but they are good enough to make Liverpool work hard for a place in the next round. The best bet may be Liverpool in the “draw – no bet” market.

Tottenham are level with Fiorentina after a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino tried to rotate his squad for the first leg but ended up in no-man’s land with a poor result and his side being extremely fortunate to salvage a point against West Ham. He is now trying to save enough for Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Chelsea and his team selection will tell us how serious he is about this competition.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see his plans blow up in his face with this match stretching to extra-time or even penalties. I think Spurs will go through but it may cost them at the weekend.

Liverpool to win DRAW NO BET @4-5 Coral

Inter Milan to beat Celtic @8-13 SkyBet

Rodrigo Palacio to score at any time @8-5 Paddy Power

Tottenham to qualify for last 16 @6-4 Bet365

Europa League Preview 19th February

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After the opening matches in the last 16 of the Champions League, attention switches to the Europa League with Everton, Liverpool, Spurs and Celtic in action on Thursday.

24 teams have battled through the group stages to reach the last 32 and have now been joined by the Champions League “failures”. Chelsea won the trophy in 2013 after being eliminated at the group stage and Liverpool will try to emulate them this season.

Brendan Rodgers has got to prioritise the Premier League, FA Cup and this competition but there are excellent reasons to pursue all three. Their recent victory over Tottenham revived hopes of a top four finish while the Europa League winners now qualify for the Champions League. Having missed out on a Capital One Cup final, the club are intent on providing Steven Gerrard with a grandstand finish in the FA Cup.

They face Besiktas in the first leg at Anfield with the familiar figure of Demba Ba returning to the scene of his breakaway goal for Chelsea that all but ended Liverpool’s title charge last season. Besiktas finished above Tottenham in their group and should provide the Reds with a tough test, especially if Rodgers fields a weakened team. Daniel Sturridge is certain to be involved at some stage but I don’t expect this to be plain sailing for Liverpool.

Roberto Martinez has managed to end Everton’s miserable run of form in recent weeks, largely by playing defensive football. They came within moments of keeping a fourth consecutive clean sheet against Chelsea having shut out Liverpool. They will surely adopt a similar policy when they travel to Young Boys, a dangerous opponent with seven consecutive European wins. Their impressive group form included a 2-0 win against Napoli and they could prove too good for the Toffees with home advantage.

Tottenham are at home to Fiorentina, a side that includes Micah Richards, Alberto Aquilani and Mohamed Salah. The latter has already opened his account since joining the Italian side from Chelsea in January. They beat Sassuolo 3-1 on Saturday and will give Mauricio Pochettino’s side plenty to think about here. However, Fiorentina have only kept one clean sheet in twelve and Spurs have enough fire power to gain a first leg advantage.

Celtic face Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan at Celtic Park and will need to grab a lead if they are to have any chance of progressing. They won their eighth successive match when beating St Johnstone on Saturday while Inter have also improved recently on the domestic front. They are still languishing in mid-table and struggled through the group phase but could have enough class to win away from home.

Young Boys to beat Everton @19-10 Totesport, Betfred

Inter Milan to beat Celtic @31-20 BetVictor

Liverpool v Besiktas DRAW @16-5 BetVictor

Tottenham to beat Fiorentina @5-4 Bet365

Chelsea to maintain Premiership advantage

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Chelsea and Manchester City each face tricky opposition on Wednesday night in the Premier League. The London club moved seven points clear of the champions on Saturday courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic’s fine drive against Aston Villa. They now face Everton at Stamford Bridge as leading scorer Diego Costa sits out the final match of his suspension for the stamping incident against Liverpool last month.

Everton have not won at the Bridge in their last twenty visits and were beaten 6-3 in an extraordinary game at Goodison Park earlier in the season. Roberto Martinez’s team were hovering dangerously close to the drop zone before their victory over Crystal Palace recently. A dour 0-0 draw with Liverpool suggests that they have steadied the ship and should provide a tough test for Jose Mourinho’s side. If the Blues are to go on to be crowned champions, these are just the sort of games that they need to grind out a result. Ivanovic scored a vital goal against Liverpool prior to his strike against Villa and looks over-priced in the goals markets.

Manchester City have been poor recently and have only picked up three points in their last four league matches. Sergio Aguero is yet to hit the target since returning from his latest injury while you have to go back to September to find Edin Dzeko’s last goal. They travel to Stoke who are in great form at present. Mark Hughes had the satisfaction of inflicting a rare home defeat on Manuel Pellegrini’s side earlier in the season and his side can cause further problems on Wednesday.

How ironic to hear Sam Allardyce criticising Manchester United for their long-ball tactics at the weekend. This is Big Sam who was positively purring with delight after parking a claret and blue bus in front of goal against Chelsea last season and escaping with a point. The Hammers are a different side altogether this season and now travel to St Mary’s hoping to dent Southampton’s hopes of a top four spot. Both sides have been struggling in front of goal recently and this match could produce a stalemate.

United salvaged a point at West Ham and should have little trouble at home to seventeenth placed Burnley. Wayne Rooney started the season in great form but has not managed a shot on target in nearly seven hours of football this year. Fortunately for United, they have plenty of other attacking options with the unlikely figure of Fellaini providing them with an old-fashioned target man when the chips are down.

The other match that takes the eye on Wednesday is Crystal Palace at home to Newcastle. Alan Pardew will relish the prospect of moving within two points of his former club with a win here. The two previous fixtures between these teams produced eleven goals so it may worth taking a punt on a 3-2 win for the Eagles.

Chelsea to beat Everton by one goal @27-10 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @22-1 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @8-1 Betfred

Stoke v Man City DRAW @14-5 Betfair

Southampton 0 West Ham 0 @10-1 William Hill

Man United 3 Burnley 1 @12-1 Bet365

Crystal Palace 3 Newcastle 2 @40-1 Bet365

Premiership Preview February 7th

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Last weekend’s top of the table Premiership clash between Chelsea and Man City proved something of a damp squib. The absence of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa sowed the seeds of doubt in the mind of Jose Mourinho and he elected to play for a draw. The Blues went ahead through Loic Remy but never threatened once City had drawn level, seemingly content to protect their five-point lead at the top.

Costa is serving the second of his three-match ban at Villa Park tomorrow when the Blues face Aston Villa. The home side were put to the sword by Arsenal last week and will need to pick themselves up quickly if they are to avoid further embarrassment. The good news for Chelsea fans is that Fabregas returns and Chelsea should win relatively comfortably.

Rivals Man City are at home to another struggling side in Hull City. The visitors have never won at the Etihad and have not scored in 400 minutes of football. City were poor against Arsenal recently but will take heart from their draw at Stamford Bridge and have a fully fit squad. It would be no surprise to seem them resume normal service with Aguero and Dzeko back on the scoresheet.

Assuming there are no dramas at the Chelsea and City games, it is the two big derby games that will get most of the media attention. Steven Gerrard plays his final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against an Everton side that tasted victory for the first time this year on Saturday. An early goal from Romelu Lukaku was enough to beat Crystal Palace and the Toffees will be looking to build on that against their old rivals.

Despite a good run, Liverpool are still not entirely convincing and came perilously close to being knocked out of the FA Cup by an injury-hit Bolton in midweek. Everton will be up for this one and a draw could be the value bet.

The early kick-off is the North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal. The Gunners have a much stronger squad than they did at the season with several long-term injuries having returned to action. Arsene Wenger’s biggest problem will be team selection and he could probably afford to leave out Sanchez even if he passes a late test. This game finished 3-3 last year and it would be no surprise to see another goal feast here. Arsenal just look the stronger side and can grab three vital points in the battle for a Champions League place.

Arsenal to beat Tottenham @13-10 Bet365

Chelsea (-1.0 handicap) to beat Aston Villa @11-10 William Hill

Man City (-2.0 handicap) to beat Hull City @6-4 Paddy Power

Everton v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Stan James

Hammers can end Everton FA Cup hopes

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There are some interesting FA Cup third round replays taking place this week, none more so than the clash between West Ham and Everton at Upton Park on Tuesday night.

The Hammers were robbed off a place in the fourth round by an injury-time equaliser from Romelu Lukaku at Goodison Park.  Under-fire Everton coach Roberto Martinez must have been a relieved man to see that go in and the Toffees picked up enough encouragement to hold champions Man City on Saturday.

I have been most impressed by West Ham this season and they could be doing even better with a bit more luck in recent matches. They led Swansea thanks to a superb goal from Andy Carroll at the weekend but a Mark Noble own-goal left them sharing the points. They also drew with West Brom and should have got at least a point from a pulsating London derby against Arsenal.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce could pick his strongest possible side at Upton Park on Tuesday night and that will really put the pressure on a weakened Everton line-up. Only Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate are missing from Allardyce’s regular squad and the return to form of Carroll gives them an obvious attacking threat. Stewart Downing continues to earn rave reviews in midfield and the Hammers are deservedly favourites to go through.

Martinez endured a miserable festive season with four straight defeats against Southampton, Stoke, Newcastle and Hull. The 1-1 draw against West Ham and a league point against the City have temporarily stopped the rot but he continues to struggle with an injury-hit squad. Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin and Leon Osman are among those still absent as Everton look for a first win since mid-December.  Lukaku has been working tirelessly in recent matches and he will be the most likely goal threat for the visitors.

The pick of the remaining replays on Tuesday is the clash between Wolves and Fulham at Molineux. The home team will be without top scorer Bakary Sako but should still have too much power for a team ten places below them in the Championship. The winners are rewarded with a trip to The Stadium of Light to face Premiership Sunderland in the fourth round. The winner of the West Ham/Everton game visit either Doncaster or Bristol City.

West Ham to beat Everton @7-5 William Hill

Wolves to beat Fulham @19-20 Coral

FA Cup 3rd Round Preview

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The 3rd Round of the FA Cup has provided plenty of shocks down the years as the Premier League clubs entered the competition. Most of the big guns do not play until Sunday following a dramatic week of Premiership action.

West Brom will be desperate to avoid any embarrassment with the visit of Gateshead while the all-Premiership clash between Leicester and Newcastle is the pick of Saturday’s ties. Both teams were involved in entertaining draws on New Year’s Day, Leicester pulling back a two-goal deficit at Anfield and the Magpies being pegged back to a 3-3 draw by Burnley. Newcastle look decidedly shaky at the moment but will Leicester be keen to get involved in a Cup run with the threat of relegation hanging over them? My guess is no so I’m siding with Newcastle.

Swansea are the only other Premier League team in action on Saturday and they face a tricky encounter at Tranmere. The Swans received a late boost with the news that Wayne Routledge’s red card against QPR has been rescinded and he is free to play on Saturday. Garry Monk is expected to make wholesale changes but they can still prove too strong for a Tranmere side that languishes third from bottom of League Two.

Neil Lennon has brought about some dramatic improvement at Bolton since he took over. They have only dropped two t home in their last six matches and can see off an out-of-sorts Wigan at the Macron Stadium.

Chelsea fans will still be reeling from that 5-3 defeat at Tottenham when the Blues take on Watford at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s second XI are good enough to compete with most Premiership sides so any number of changes won’t affect the result here. Jose Mourinho will demand a response from their New Year’s Day nightmare and it may be worth chancing a big win with the likes of Remy and Schurrle keen to impress.

Man City have clawed their way back level with the Blues in the Premiership and can see off Sheffield Wednesday despite their continuing lack of a front-line striker. Jovetic can make the most of his opportunity in the absence of Aguero and Dzeko.

Man United’s all-stars travel to lowly Yeovil and can also score a decisive victory but Southampton and Arsenal look more vulnerable. The Saints have resurrected their league form but don’t have the strength in depth to afford too many changes against Ipswich while the Gunners face last year’s Cup finalists Hull. It may be worth taking a chance on the draw in both games.

The action continues on Monday with Burnley hosting Tottenham and Wimbledon welcoming Liverpool. On Tuesday Everton play West Ham in another all-Premiership clash. Everton are really struggling lately while West Ham have been playing well without getting the results. A combination of poor refereeing and poor finishing cost them points against Arsenal and they should have beaten West Brom on New Year’s Day.

Bolton to beat Wigan @6-4 Bet365

Newcastle to beat Leicester @2-1 Coral

Swansea (-2.0 handicap) to beat Tranmere @11-4 Skybet

Man City (-2.0 handicap) to beat Sheffield Wednesday @6-5 Bet365

Stevan Jovetic to score and Man City win @11-10 Bwin

Southampton v Ipswich DRAW @15-4 BetVictor

Man United (-2.0 handicap) to beat Yeovil @13-8 Skybet

Chelsea (-2.0 handicap) to beat Watford @6-5 Bet365

Andre Schurrle to score and Chelsea win @7-5 Bwin

Arsenal v Hull DRAW @9-2 Bet365

West Ham to beat Everton @3-1 Totesport