Having failed to pick up all three points or hit the back of the net last weekend, Everton and Leicester City will be aiming to right their recent wrongs in Saturday evening’s clash at Goodison Park.
The Toffees were held to a goalless draw away at Fulham, while the Foxes fell short to a 1-0 defeat against reigning champions Manchester City.
Everton will be looking to make it six unbeaten against Leicester having not lost any of their previous five meetings. Jordan Pickford, who played a vital part in keeping a clean sheet last weekend, will have his sights on making it three blanks in a row on Saturday.
Bouncing back from their three straight defeats to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, Frank Lampard’s men are 12th in the table with only three points separating them from the drop zone.
However, Goodison proves to be every away side’s nightmare as they have the least number of goals conceded at home in the league (4). The experienced partnership of Conor Coady and James Tarkowski has revitalized the Blues’ defence, but at the other end they’ve failed to score in three of their last four outings.
Following a disappointing display at Craven Cottage, Seamus Coleman is set to be replaced by Nathan Patterson who made his much-anticipated return as a substitute last week. The Scot has been side-lined with injury since September 18.
Brendan Rodgers’ side haven’t struggled for goals this season, but it is their defence which raises eyebrows. Losing Ryan Bertrand, Ricardo Pereira and veteran Johnny Evans to injury has left their back line options thin.
Prior to the loss against City, their form has been impressive since October after a poor start to the season. This is largely down to the remarkable form of James Maddison who has six goals and two assists this season. He will be ready to make a statement to Gareth Southgate as he hopes to make it into England’s World Cup squad.
Rodgers brought back Caglar Soyuncu in their last game, which came as a surprise, but the Turkey international could be dropped to the bench again as they revert to a back four.
Their record of one win away from home in six highlights where Leicester have struggled so much this season.
Lampard has all the ingredients at his disposal to collect three points from the Foxes. They need to replicate their attacking fortunes from the recent 3-0 win over Crystal Palace if they’re to build a sizeable gap from the bottom of the table.
