Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
Everton suffered their first defeat under David Moyes in two and a half months, but Arsenal would be mistaken to view this fixture as a routine win. Everton’s only victory during that period came against Liverpool.
Everton
The Merseyside derby could have played out differently. Despite Liverpool Football Club registering 17 shots, Everton created two clear-cut chances before the interval while the score remained 0:0. One ended in a goal, but Norberto “Beto” Bercique, playing as the central striker, was marginally offside and saw it ruled out. He later hit the woodwork. Everton conceded three times from three shots on target. This was the fourth straight match involving a low-scoring result, the only difference being that Liverpool managed to find the net.
Arsenal
Arsenal have now scored twice in two of their last four matches. They created 17 attempts against Fulham, matching Liverpool’s tally against Everton, and hit the target four times — just one fewer than the Merseyside team. That one extra shot on target may have proved decisive, with Bukayo Saka netting the second goal on his long-awaited return. The match looked set to finish under the goals threshold, until Rodrigo Muniz pulled one back for Fulham in the 94th minute.
Everton vs Arsenal Prediction
The 7:1 result against PSV Eindhoven was an outlier for an Arsenal side that has struggled in front of goal. In their other nine fixtures since the beginning of February, six finished with under 2.5 goals. Given Everton’s similarly cautious approach in attack, that pattern is expected to hold.
