Everton vs Swansea
Written by James Gregory
Swansea head to Goodison Park rock bottom of the Premier League for this week’s Monday Night Football.
The Swans’ fellow relegation companion entering this weekend (Crystal Palace and West Ham) both won 3-0 to move out of the drop, making this a must win match.
Everton meanwhile can go ninth with a win here.
Team news
Sam Allardyce could give Yannick Bolasie his first appearance in over a year, after the DR Congo international has recovered from a knee injury.
Yannick Bolasie could make his first Everton appearance since suffering a knee injury in 1-1 draw with Manchester United last December.
James McCarthy and Leighton Baines meanwhile remain out with hamstring and calf problems respectively.
Swansea will be relieved to have Wilfried Bony available after the Ivory Coast star was subbed on Wednesday against his former club, Manchester City with muscle tightness.
Wayne Routledge was out of that game with muscle issues himself but too is fit for the trip up to Merseyside.
Stat attack
- Swansea are unbeaten in last three trips to Everton, winning one and drawing two.
- Five of last six clashes seen both sides fail to score more than once.
- 2017 has seen the Swans lose 12 of their 21 away games with six wins and three draws to boot. In the same period, Everton have a (W15, L4) home win record across all competitions.
- In this calendar year, Allardyce has won and lost five, drawing three as manager of Crystal Palace then Everton from 30th November.
Contrasting form
The goal per half stats suggest that Swansea will be more likely to attack before half time, given that 75% of their away goals this season have come in the opening half.
Everton have a similar record but more of their home goals have come after the break.
If compare Everton’s home stats vs that of Swansea away in certain areas, there are some huge differences that might be key.
| Per game average | Everton (home) | Swansea (away) |
| Corners | 4 | 2.25 |
| Fouls | 13.63 | 9.88 |
| Shots | 11 | 6.25 |
| Shots on Target | 3.75 | 1.25 |
| Goals | 1.75 | 0.5 |
Compared to other clubs, Everton and Swansea have low home/ away averages respectively, when it comes to corners.
In fact, Swansea’s away averages are very poor so there need to be some improvement here, if going to get anything.
Prediction
Based on those stats and the home/away record of both teams in 2017, I am not expecting an entertaining match.
Ultimately, I can see Everton taking the win purely because of their recent form.
Prediction: Everton 1-0 Swansea
Jake predicts: Everton 3-2 Swansea
Result: Everton 3-1 Swansea
