EVFC (Everton) vs BHAFC (Brighton & Hove Albion) Match Prediction
England
Goodison Park
Brighton, on the other hand, will have a new manager at the helm, with Fabian Hurzeler replacing De Zerbi. The German manager is the second-youngest manager to manage in the Premier League. The biggest challenge for him will be to get this team’s morale up after a poor ending to last season in which they lost their last 2 games. Brighton has made a tonne of promising signings, with Minteh being one of the standouts.
Facts:
- Everton had a very good record against Brighton at the Goodison when they met them in their first 4 games, winning each of them. However, in recent memory, their performances against the Seagulls have massively dipped. The Toffees have not won any of their last 3 games at home against Brighton. They have drawn 1 and lost 2 of those games.
- The first goal in the fixtures between Brighton and Everton has been very crucial. Whichever team has ended up breaking the deadlock first has never ended on the losing side. The Toffees, however, failed to win any of their games last season against Brighton, even though they scored the first goal home and away. Both games ended 1-1 last season.
- Everton, in recent memory, have not enjoyed playing on the opening day of the season. The Toffees have lost each of their last 2 games on match week one in the Premier League. They lost to Fulham last season and to Chelsea the season before that. A defeat on Saturday would see them lose on 3 occasions, which will be the worst tally since the period between 2008/09-2011/12, where they lost on 4 opening matchdays.
- Brighton have turned around their fortunes on the opening game week massively in recent times. In their first four Premier League seasons, Brighton lost on the opening day in three seasons. However, they have won their first game of the season in each of their last 3 seasons in the Premier League. A win against Everton will make it four in a row, a feat that Brighton will achieve for the first time ever in the Premier League.
Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion Chance of Winning
The recent head-to-head tally between these two teams is quite neck-to-neck, with the Toffees having a slight advantage. In the last 14 meetings between the two sides, Everton has managed to win 6 times, and 4 games ended in a draw with Brighton and Hove Albion winning 4 games. Brighton in recent games has enjoyed playing against Everton and has not tended to lose. Neither team could get the better of each other last season, as both games ended in a draw.
Everton last season once again fiddled with relegation; however, their mentality was top notch. Sean Dyche will similarly expect his Everton to have adversities, but he will also expect them to be dealt with. Everton were resilient at home last season, as they lost only on 7 occasions at home last season. Everton’s style of play will remain the same, playing off the ball with more attention on being defensively resolute.
Brighton themselves are coming out of a disappointing campaign last season. Their new German manager, however, is known for his high-octane football that is progressive. Hurzeler is expected to have most of his first teamers ready, and the Seagulls are a team that has always played well when their players are healthy. Defensively, Everton look weak, and that is why we believe that Brighton have the better chance of winning on Saturday.
Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion Predictions and Betting Tips
The oddsmakers have narrowly backed Brighton & Hove Albion to edge past Everton in this game at Goodison Park. The difference between these two teams here is negligible, showing the unpredictable nature of this encounter. Brighton last season were not the best, with Everton being really good at home in the final leg of the season. It remains to be seen if Brighton could improve from their disastrous away form away from home last season.
It was Everton’s home at Goodison Park that helped them survive the drop last season. The Toffees had a 42% win record in front of their fans. Sean Dyche’s men were not prolific goal scorers, as they averaged just 1.16 goals a game from an expected goals ratio of 1.62. It remains to be seen how clinical Everton are in front of goal this season, as last year they were quite wasteful. The Everton backline was one of the better backlines in the league last year. They conceded just 0.95 goals at the Goodison, which was crucial for their upturn in results. Brighton, as per their standards, were dreadful away from home last season. The Seagulls lost nine of their 19 games and accumulated a win percentage of just 21%. They scored 1.32 goals on average from an expected goals ratio of 1.49.
With everything assessed, here are our predictions and tips for this game. We expect this game to be quite a tight affair. We can see both teams scoring on Saturday. Brighton and Hove Albion to win this game by a single goal margin is our call. We also expect Brighton to score two goals or more. Brighton scored in 68% of their away games last season. Everton were solid defensively in the Premier League last season, keeping a clean sheet in 47% of their games at home. We do expect Everton to concede because they will be without their key defender Jarrad Branthwaite. We also back Everton to get a goal in this game. Brighton last year was very poor defensively and has not done massively well in the transfer market to fix that. With Everton being at home, we can see them getting on the scoresheet.
Out of the two teams, Everton has a slightly better record when it comes to scoring first in recent games. The Toffees have scored first in 7 of their last 10 games. Brighton, meanwhile, have scored the opening goal in six of their last 10 games. The difference between the two is not big; however, we do fancy the away team to start off strong and break the deadlock first due to their better attack.
For Everton, we do believe that two names stand out when it comes to being favourites to score. We do believe that the choice is between Calvert-Lewin and Doucoure. The latter was the talisman for Everton last season. Doucoure from midfield was their top scorer. The midfielder, according to us, will continue to be a dangerous player for Everton this season as well. Doucoure’s late and powerful runs could cause Brighton some issues. Calvert-Lewin is really good in the air, however. The striker is a big threat from set pieces and is also on penalties. We do however marginally back Calvert Lewin over Doucoure; however, both are good shouts.
We back Kaoru Mitoma for an anytime assist in this game. The Japanese winger who missed most of last season through injury is back for Brighton. Mitoma is one of the league’s most creative players. He still registered 4 assists last year. Everton are defensively quite suspect on the right-hand side, and we could see Mitoma having a field day some Saturday.
Final Prediction:Brighton & Hove Albion to beat Everton.
Everton Player List
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Joao Virginia, Harry Tyrer, Billy Crellin
Defenders: James Tarkowski, Nathan Patterson, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane, Vitalii Mykolenko, Seamus Coleman, Ashley Young, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jake O’Brien
Midfielders: Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam
Attackers:Dwight McNeil, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Beto, Jack Harrison, Youssef Chermiti, Neal Maupay, Jesper Lindstrom, Iliman Ndiaye
Everton Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Jordan Pickford |
Goalkeeper |
|
Vitalii Mykolenko |
Defender |
|
Jake O’Brien |
Defender |
|
James Tarkowski |
Defender |
|
Ashley Young |
Defender |
|
Idrissa Gueye |
Midfielder |
|
Tim Iroegbunam |
Midfielder |
|
Dwight McNeil |
Attacker |
|
Abdoulaye Doucoure |
Midfielder |
|
Jack Harrison |
Attacker |
|
Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
Attacker |
Everton Team Form(Last five games): D, W, L, L, D
Brighton & Hove Albion Player List
Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen, Jason Steele, Carl Rushworth
Defenders: Tariq Lamptey, Igor Julio, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Valentin Barco, Jan Paul van Hecke, Pervis Estupinan, Joel Veltman, Odeluga Offiah
Midfielders: James Milner, Solly March, Billy Gilmour, Mahmoud Dahoud, Jakub Moder, Kaoru Mitoma, Andrew Moran, Facundo Buonanotte, Carlos Baleba, Jeremy Sarmiento, Jack Hinshelwood, Cameron Peupion, Matts Wieffer, Malick Yalcouye, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Jensen Weir, Yasin Ayari
Attackers:Joao Pedro, Julio Enciso, Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra, Evan Ferguson, Abdallah Sima, Yankuba Minteh, Ibrahim Osman
Brighton & Hove Albion Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Jason Steele |
Goalkeeper |
|
Valentin Barco |
Defender |
|
Ben Dunk |
Defender |
|
Jan Paul van Hecke |
Defender |
|
Joel Veltman |
Defender |
|
Matts Wieffer |
Midfielder |
|
James Milner |
Midfielder |
|
Yankuba Minteh |
Midfielder |
|
Kaoru Mitoma |
Attacker |
|
Joao Pedro |
Attacker |
|
Danny Welbeck |
Attacker |
Brighton & Hove Albion Team Form(Last five games): W, W, W, L, W
Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion Head-To-Head
Matches Played:25
Everton wins:11
Brighton & Hove Albion wins:6
Matches are drawn:8
Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion Betting Odds
Everton to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.77.
Brighton & Hove Albion to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.65.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 3.35.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Brighton & Hove Albion
Everton, on the other hand, had a mixed bag with some good performances and some bad. Brighton's last season was marred with injuries, with many of their key players missing, especially in attack. This season all of their players have returned fit, and under the management of Fabian Hurzeler, we do expect them to perform much better. The loss of Jarrad Branthwaite to injury is a massive blow to Everton. Based on everything we do, expect Brighton to just edge past Everton by 2 goals to 1.
Parimatch