Premier League: Everton vs Cardiff preview

Everton will be looking to secure their fourth consecutive home victory in the Premier League when they host struggling Cardiff at Goodison Park on Saturday. The two teams have not met since the 2013-2014 season, when Cardiff got relegated to the Championship. During that campaign the Toffees won 2-1 at home against Cardiff but were unable to get more than a goalless draw in Wales. The two clubs rarely met during their history, due to the fact that Cardiff were in the lower leagues most of the time. The last time Cardiff won an away match against Everton was before World War II, back in 1926! Everton seem to have finally found some sort of consistency, at least in their home matches. They have won their last three home games in the Premier League and have only lost one out of six this season. They are currently ninth in the Premier League table after having lost just one of their last six matches. Their last result before the international break was a creditable goalless draw at unbeaten Chelsea, a solid result that came after a 3-1 home victory over Brighton. Andre Gomes and Gylfi Sigurdsson are injury doubts ahead of Saturday's match after having withdrawn from their national teams last week, while Jonjoe Kenny is definitely sidelined. Cardiff have been showing signs of improvement lately, but they still have a lot to do if they want to survive in the Premier League. They have won two of their last four matches, an impressive record considering they had gone eight matches without winning at the start of the season. However, both their victories were at home, 4-2 over Fulham and 2-1 against Brighton, their away record is still terrible. In fact, Cardiff have lost four out of five away from home this season, scored two goals and conceded eleven. Jazz Richards is injured and won't make the squad for Saturday's match. Probable line-ups: Everton: Pickford - Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne - Gomes, Gueye - Walcott, Sigurdsson, Bernard - Richarlison Cardiff: Etheridge - Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Bennett - Camarasa, Arter, Ralls, Murphy - Reid - Paterson My prediction: Everton to win 1-0, Cardiff will most likely try to park the bus but the Toffees should find a breach sooner or later. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Everton win - 1.40 Draw - 4.75 Cardiff win - 7.00