Everton will look to keep their mini revival going when they host fellow strugglers Brentford at Goodison Park in the Premier League late afternoon kick-off on Saturday.
The Toffees will be buoyed by their 2-0 victory over Liverpool in midweek, marking their first home win over their bitter Merseyside adversaries in 10 years.
Brentford have also got their act together. Thomas Frank’s men are in the midst of a five-game unbeaten run, and they go into this clash on the back of a 5-1 drubbing of Luton.
Moreover, the Bees should be feeling fresh for this game, having had a full week to prepare, and they will look to continue to propel themselves up the table.
Darren England, meanwhile, will be the man in the middle and he will be officiating his 18th game in charge of Brentford, but his most recent assignment saw Brentford slip to a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City back in February which is perhaps not a good omen.
A win for Everton will all but safeguard their top-flight status for another season. But who will prevail in this clash? I have leafed through the betting markets and divulged a couple for you to pore over.
Everton to take the sting out of the Bees
The noise at Goodison Park in midweek was deafening. There was unconfined joy as Everton gave their survival hopes a huge boost by dismantling Liverpool.
Yes, Liverpool engineered and spurned plenty of chances, but Everton, who have been locked in an icy grip of misery this term, showed signs they have turned a corner.
Interestingly, Everton have won three of their past four league matches (L1), but before they embarked on this mini run, they failed to taste victory in any of their previous 13 league outings (D6, L7).
Brentford, meanwhile, who are a place (15th) above Everton in the table, have also looked more fluid and against Luton, they were rampant.
In the previous clash, Everton ran out 3-1 winners, and while I don’t expect a repeat performance this weekend, I think the Toffees could come out top and record a league double over Brentford.
Although Everton have kept three clean sheets in their past four games, their defence could be breached. For my opening gambit, I’m leaning into Everton to win & BTTS which is trading at a tasty 16/5 with Paddy Power.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a roll
Against Liverpool, both of Everton’s goals came from set-pieces and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header was majestic as he sprung into the air and powered home.
By all accounts, Calvert-Lewin has been far from prolific, netting six times in the league this term, but he has scored in three of his past four appearances which is as many as his past 28 outings in the competition.
Everton will look to pump plenty of balls into the box this weekend, and I fancy Calvert-Lewin to get on the end of one of them.
To round things off, I’m backing Calvert-Lewin to net with a header which is available at an inviting 6/1 with bet365.
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