Arsenal wants to open up an eight points gap with a win away at Everton now under a new manager in Sean Dyche.
The Toffees tasted yet another defeat in the league, going down 2-0 against West Ham while Arsenal won their 16th game of the season by beating Manchester United in a 3-2 thriller.
EVE vs ARS Match Details
Date: Saturday, 4 February 2023
Time: 13:30 (BST) / 18:00 (IST)
Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool
EVE vs ARS Match Preview
The 2-0 defeat to West Ham was the final straw that broke the camel’s back for Frank Lampard’s tenure at Everton as the Chelsea legend was sacked just eight days less than completing a year at the club. He leaves the Toffees in 19th place with only three wins registered from 20 games. They are only two points away from safety but have already lost in 11 this season. Even with the manager dismissed, fans know the route of the problems over the year lies with the board. As protests against the ownership go on, Everton has gone for Sean Dyche to be their new boss, tying him until 2025. Dyche has earlier taken Burnley to great heights with the club even tasting European football under him and all of this after working on a tight budget. The manager will face something similar at the Merseyside club as proven in the January window with no arrivals despite the club languishing in the relegation zone. They saw Arnaut Danjuma’s deal hijacked by Tottenham, a $54 million bid rejected by Chelsea for Conor Gallagher and Andre Ayew opting to join Nottingham Forest rather than them on a free transfer. Selling Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United was also a loss in sporting ways. To make matters worse, Dyche’s first tester as Everton’s boss will be to fight runaway leaders Arsenal at Goodison Park this weekend. The Toffees lost in their previous four matches at home but have stayed unbeaten in the last four meetings with three wins in the period against the Gunners at this venue. The record will serve as the only inspiration for the blue shirts in the afternoon kick-off.
Arsenal might have not taken the big emotional weight of getting eliminated from the FA Cup last weekend in the hands of Manchester City, their closest title rivals, but it is the duel they would have liked to win. With the two going to meet in the Premier League later this month for the first time this season, it could have been a precedent-setter for the league leaders. Understandably, Mikel Arteta’s men are ready to sacrifice anything for the Premier League and so will try to make their mark in the league meeting itself. They will face Everton and Brentford before that top-of-the-table clash against City on 15th February. Arsenal will be aiming for full points for the next two matches to be fully prepared for the showdown. As said, Goodison Park has not been a happy hunting ground for the table-toppers lately with their last win coming here in 2017 which was a 5-2 thriller. Another explosive battle like that is unlikely but the side constructed this season has been a wonderful watch with no signs of backing down. Even without star forward Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal managed to pick up results with relevant ease. Also during difficult situations, Edward Nketiah has filled in the Brazilian’s shoes as shown by his stunning brace with a late winner in the 3-2 victory over Manchester United in the last league match. For a side that has lost only once all season and scored 45 goals against a defense that has leaked 28, it does not look to be an uphill battle for the current crop to finally put their dismal record at Goodison to bed.
Recent Form (all competitions)
EVE: LLLLD
ARS: LWWWD
Recent Form (league)
EVE: LLLDL
ARS: WWDWW
EVE vs ARS Team News
Regarding fitness for Everton, Ben Godfrey is close to recovering from a sprained knee injury but will miss the clash against Arsenal. Michael Keane is also nursing a muscle injury while James Garner is out with a back problem till March. Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson are the other players on the sideline. Sean Dyche is expected to use his well-known 4-4-2 system here which will be more of a 4-4-1-1 with Demarai Gray playing behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin rather than partnering him upfront. The manager is reunited with James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil with both set to be key players for him as they did at Burnley.
Gabriel Martinelli’s sensational season for Arsenal gave him the gift of a mega contract extension which will keep him until 2027. The exciting Brazilian will continue on the left wing with competition also coming in the form of Leonardo Trossard now to push him more in games and become a future asset to the club. Another signing on the deadline day, Jorginho was brought in to add more experience and quality in the midfield while playing the backup to Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey pairing. However, he can make his debut on Saturday following an injury doubt on the latter and Mohamed Elneny is also out injured. Emile-Smith Rowe is still not available.
EVE vs ARS Predicted Lineups
EVE: Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Vitalyii Mykolenko; Alex Iwobi, Idrissa Gueye, Andre Onana, Dwight McNeil; Demarai Gray, Calvert-Lewin
ARS: Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Edward Nketiah
EVE vs ARS Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Ramsdale (8)
DEF: Tarkowski (8), Magalhaes (8.5), Zinchenko (7)
MID: Iwobi (8.5), Odegaard (9), Onana (7,5), Saka (9)
FW: Gray (9), Nketiah (8.5), Martinelli (9)
Vice-captain: Martin Odegaard
Captain: Bukayo Saka
Stay tuned to Dream11 and Fantasy Football for upcoming matches.
