Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
Bournemouth
As recently as late October, after matchday nine, Bournemouth were second; only Arsenal were ahead of them. Since then it is as if they have been replaced: three defeats and one draw. The first two dropped points are understandable: they played away to serious Champions League contenders Manchester City (1:3) and Aston Villa (0:4), although the scorelines were still heavy. But a home draw with West Ham United (2:2)? Bournemouth even had to come back from 0:2. Then came an away trip to Sunderland, and that was another problem: they went 2:0 up inside the first quarter of an hour but still failed to take even a point (2:3).
Everton
Everton’s unbeaten run, which included two wins with clean sheets and a low-scoring draw, suddenly ended at home with a heavy defeat to Newcastle United (1:4). The issue was not the fact of the loss, but its humiliating margin. Everything was decided before half-time, when the opposition scored three unanswered goals. It is not that Jordan Pickford failed to make saves: he produced a couple of spectacular stops, but the defence clearly did not help him. According to xGA, Everton were expected to score roughly half that amount, with Everton conceding 1.91 xGA.
Bournemouth vs Everton Prediction
Bournemouth’s recent results have been influenced partly by the fixture list, but there are also clear shortcomings. Everton can also be opened up easily, especially down their left flank. With this in mind, we expect a high-scoring match driven by defensive errors.
