Everton will lock horns with Fulham for the 66th time this Saturday, in a fixture the Blues have generally have a better record. The Toffee’s have beaten the west-London outfit 31 times over their history, but recent clashes have brought slightly more mixed results:
Fulham 2 Everton 0 February 2021
The last time the two sides met a European football–chasing Everton were brought back down to earth by a Fulham side fighting at the other end of the table. Scott Parker’s side struggled to find form after promotion from the championship the previous year, so they bolstered their ranks in the January transfer window. One of the new arrivals was striker Josh Maja, who in his first start scored twice to deal the home side a bitter blow. Maja would only score once more for Fulham as they were relegated back to the championship.
A key loss for Everton in the home fixture with Fulham was number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Sheffield-born striker was available for the previous game and he made a sudden impact after just 42 seconds. Calvert-Lewin got on the end of a ball fizzed across the six-yard box to give Carlo Ancelotti’s team a lightning start. The home side levelled things up through a Bobby Decordova-Reid finish, but the Toffees were back ahead before the break through another Calvert-Lewin finish. Abdoulaye Doucoure added his name to the scoresheet and Everton looked to have the three points secured. Ivan Calveiro missed a golden chance to lead the second-half fightback as he embarrassingly slipped when taking a penalty, scooping the ball over the bar. The Cottagers would pull one back through Reuben Loftus-Cheek but couldn’t find an equaliser in this dramatic affair.
Fulham 2 Everton 0 April 2019
An already relegated Fulham showed the fight that had been regularly missing that season as they comprehensively beat Everton. Captain Phil Jagielka made a rare start for Everton, but it was former Liverpool man Ryan Babel who made the difference at Craven Cottage. The Dutchman set up Tom Cairney for the opener before punishing the away side again when he broke away from Seamus Coleman and lifted the ball over Jordan Pickford. It was a lively performance from Fulham, one their supporters could only wish for earlier in the season.
Everton 3 Fulham 0 September 2018
Marco Silva, the man who now stands in Fulham’s dugout, got his first big win as Everton manager in a 3-0 demolition of Fulham. The home side were awarded a penalty in the first half after Denis Odoi shoved Calvert-Lewin in the back. Gyfli Sigurdsson rattled the crossbar from the spot kick, keeping the score at 0-0, but would open the scoring minutes later with a curling outside of the foot shot from just outside the box. An unmarked Cenk Tosun doubled the lead with a header at the back post. Sigurdsson scored his second, a low driven shot from a Bernard cutback secure three points to cap an impressive performance Everton will look to replicate on Saturday evening.
