Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur
The spotlight is always on in the Premier League, especially when you are manager of one of the established big boys.
The fact Everton — and to a lesser extent Spurs — have largely struggled of late only adds to the focus which is firmly on a Portuguese and an Argentine boss on whom great things are expected.
Their sides are certainly capable of producing Premier League highlights.
We have seen that both on Merseyside and in north London under their stewardship.
Yet for two sides beginning the weekend in 11th (Spurs) and 16th (Everton) places respectively, the pressure is clearly on.
Talking Points
Less than a year ago my SBOBET colleague previewed this fixture between the Toffees and Lillywhites, both renowned for their good football and careful club management off the pitch.
He said all they need to add now is silverware and stated, while it would be unfair to call these two teams ‘also-rans’ of the Premier League, their aspirations had exceeded their achievements so far.
That remains the case.
Yes, they are coached by two of the brightest young managers in world football. Mauricio Pochettino has gradually improved the Spurs while spending very little compared to many of his rivals, while Marco Silva is assembling a highly-talented squad at Everton.
However, so far this term, both sides appear to have gone backwards under two increasingly beleaguered bosses – all of which points to a potentially scrappy affair at Goodison Park this weekend.
One win in six league games is alarming form, although the Toffees have scored twice in each of their last three outings across all competitions and in midweek made their way into the League Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Watford.
Just one win since late August has piled plenty of pressure on Pochettino, too, and he will be relying on Harry Kane who scored on Merseyside last weekend and has an impressive 11 career goals against Everton to date, including two in a 6-2 rout here last term.
Indeed, Kane has scored twice in each of his last four league appearances against the Toffees.
Spurs are certainly showing signs of improvement in the past fortnight, most notably in Europe last week, but now need results to improve.
The only major team news is that left-back Danny Rose is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season last weekend.
It really is close to call, although Everton can take some heart from the fact they appear to be much stronger at Goodison than on the road this season, and they sit in seventh based on league position at home.
What they cannot take heart from is what appears to have become the damaging norm since Farhad Moshiri’s arrival as owner in February 2016. The season is already about managerial survival or upheaval and not the progression the club craves from an expensively assembled team under a young, positive coach.
In the current culture, one suspects something soon has to give for one of these managers. That scenario makes Sunday so important.
History
These two Premier League mainstays have faced each other on 177 occasions in all competitions, with Tottenham coming out on top with 67 wins to Everton’s 55 triumphs. There have also been 57 draws.
Everton have struggled in this fixture in recent years and have not beaten Spurs in seven years.
Their last victory was a 2-1 win in December 2012, thanks to last-gasp goals.
Steven Pienaar equalised in the final minute of normal time before Nikica Jelavic netted the winner in added time at the end of the game.
That now means they have not beaten Spurs for 13 meetings.
They did draw 2-2 at Spurs on the final day of last season.
Then Eric Dier put the north Londoners in front early on. Two goals in four minutes from Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun gave the Toffees the lead before Christian Eriksen equalised.
Betting Tip
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Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur | 1×2 Draw @ 3.20 |
| November 4, 00:30 (GMT+8) |
Our Premier League betting odds make Spurs slight favourites.
You can back them 1X2 @ 2.58 and Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 2.21.
Everton are 1X2 @ an attractive 2.70 and Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 2.38.
If there is to be a goal glut like last time, how about over 3.00 goals @ 2.31 or total goal 4-6 @ 3.10?
I am tempted to go for a score draw – correct score 1-1 – @ 6.00 but will opt for a slightly safer prediction.
Is my tip beleaguered betting on beleaguered bosses?
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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