Everton vs Leicester City
The Premier League underachievers host the overachievers.
That may seem a harsh statement but Everton, one of English football’s great institutions, have been off the footlights of the game for too long now.
Twice English champions and the holder of a European title in the mid-1980s, only an FA Cup success in 1995 (they also reached the 2009 final and created history before going down to defeat) has since followed.
Compare that to Leicester whose own Premier League highlights reel also include the biggest prize of all and it’s easy to see why Evertonians crave a return to their own glory days.
Talking Points
To prove the point, Leicester have actually already beaten Everton twice this season and go to Goodison Park in search of a hat-trick.
However, the blue half of Merseyside seem to have a little bit more about them now than they did during those meetings in a spell lasting little over two weeks in December, shortly before Carlo Ancelotti was appointed.
Consistency is the name of the game for the Italian whose side have returned to action with a goalless draw in the Merseyside derby followed by a narrow win at basement battlers Norwich – a productive return since the hiatus and one that shows Everton could well be tightening up at the back.
Their last Premier League defeat on home turf also came back in November, since when they have faced six of the teams currently above them in the table and taken 12 points from the 18 on offer, so they are taking small steps in the right direction.
Furthermore, the Toffees are the only Premier League side still unbeaten at home in 2020 across all competitions, while their ongoing streak of seven without defeat stretches back to Leicester’s last visit in December, when the Foxes won a League Cup tie on penalties.
While that form means Everton still have an outside chance of European qualification for next season, Leicester are sitting pretty above the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Spurs and Arsenal.
Lose this, though, and their Champions League spot could come under threat.
Brendan Rodgers’ side has drawn twice since the restart and remain comfortably in a Champions League berth but they could do with a few more wins between now and the end of the season to make sure.
As it stands, they still sit third in the table, surpassing all pre-season expectations to remain well on course for a return to the Champions League in 2020-21.
Yet they have won just four of their last 15 top-flight outings, including just one of their last seven and have seen their lead over fifth-placed Wolves cut to only three points.
They are expected to be without playmaker James Maddison once again for this one after he missed the FA Cup clash with Chelsea due to a hip injury which has required an injection
Further forward, Jamie Vardy will once again go in search of his 100th Premier League goal having drawn blanks in both games since the return so far.
A goal and a win in midweek would do wonders as Leicester dare to dream of a return to European football’s top table again.
History
This is virtually as close as you can get historically. Everton have beaten the Foxes on 42 occasions, Leicester have 38 successes and there have been 32 draws.
Leicester have a good record at Goodison Park in recent years.
Earlier this season, they knocked the Toffees out of the League Cup quarter-finals on penalties, while last season they won this corresponding fixture by a solitary Vardy goal on New Year’s Day.
The league encounter in the Midlands this term was also won by Leicester thanks to a last-gasp goal from Kelechi Iheanacho after Vardy had cancelled out a Richardson opener.
Indeed, Everton have only won four of their last 14 meetings in all competitions.
Betting Tip
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Everton vs Leicester City | Over 2.75 @ 2.47 |
| July 2, 01:00 (GMT+8) |
This is very close to call with the SBOBET Premier League betting odds, as shown by the 1X2 odds on offer with Everton backed @ 2.58 and Leicester @ 2.87.
I was so tempted to go for the 1X2 draw @ 3.00 too.
Likewise, there are attractive odds with Asian Handicap betting, particularly Everton -0.25 @ 2.23 and the visitors -0.25 @ 2.38.
Their recent meetings have turned out to be extremely close affairs, as none of the last six matches saw the victors triumph with a bigger than one goal margin.
A repeat of last season’s scoreline – correct score 0-1 – will pay out @ 8.25.
Collectively, these two sides have only managed one goal apiece in their first two games back and have only been breached once, yet I expect goals galore at Goodison.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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