New manager Carlo Ancelotti will start his reign at Everton with a tricky match on Thursday, the Toffees hosst Burnley in the Premier League at Goodison Park on Boxing Day. The Clarets defeated Everton 1-0 in October at Turf Moor with a second-half goal from Jeff Hendrick, while last season Everton defeated them 5-1 at home and 2-0 away. The head-to-head record of the last six direct meetings shows three victories apiece.
Everton are hoping to put an end to their nightmare first half of the season and at least finish in the top half of the Premier League table. Last weekend interim manager Duncan Ferguson led the Toffees to a goalless draw at home against Arsenal, and that result left them in 15th place, just four points clear of the relegation zone. The Italian manager can count on enough quality players and he might also bring some more in January, but until then he does have to deal with an injury crisis. Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Cuco Martina, Theo Walcott and Morgan Schneiderlin are all sidelined, but Fabian Delph made his return to first-team football last weekend.
Burnley have bounced out of a three-game losing streak with two consecutive wins, first they won 1-0 at home against Newcastle and then they won 1-0 at Bournemouth last weekend. The Clarets are right in the middle of the Premier League table at the moment, nine points away from the relegation zone and just three points behind sixth-placed Wolverhampton. Jeff Hendrick is suspended for the visitors, while Johann Gudmundsson is out injured.
Probable line-ups:
Everton: Pickford - Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne - Davies, Sigurdsson, Delph, Bernard - Richarlison, Kean
Burnley: Pope - Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor - Brady, Westwood, Cork, McNeil - Barnes, Rodriguez
My prediction:
Everton will have some fresh energy after the appointment of their new manager, and Ancelotti is experienced enough to take advantage of that in this match. I think the Toffees will win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Everton win - 1.71
Draw - 3.80
Burnley win - 5.15
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