Premier League | Gameweek 9

Oct 26, 2024 at 5.30pm UK

Goodison Park

Everton vs Fulham

Match preview

After a rocky start to the 2024-25 season with four losses and 12 goals conceded, Everton has shown improvement under Sean Dyche, earning eight points from their last four Premier League matches.

The Toffees played out a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United in their final game before the international break. They returned to winning ways last weekend, beating newly-promoted Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road thanks to first-half goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane.

Dyche was really pleased with his team's performance, saying it was "very strong". They kept a second successive clean sheet and prevented Ipswich from registering a single shot on target until the 80th minute. His side currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, five points above the relegation zone.

Everton have a knack for turning their fortunes around in October. Since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, they've averaged 1.55 points per game in October, compared to just 0.75 points between August and September. They've also kept six clean sheets in their last seven league games in October.

Their performance at home to Fulham has been disappointing, with three losses in a row against the Cottagers at Goodison Park. They had an impressive 27-game unbeaten run between 1949 and 2018, winning each of the last 22.

Fulham had a great run going into the international break, with 11 points from five games. But they've since had back-to-back losses against Manchester City and Aston Villa.

After a tough match at Man City, where they lost 3-2, the Cottagers had a similar experience at home against Aston Villa last weekend. They were up 1-0 early on, but Raul Jimenez's goal was cancelled out by Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins. Then, just five minutes after Joachim Andersen's red card, Issa Diop scored an own goal, which gave the visitors the win.

Fulham are currently sitting 10th in the Premier League table and only three points behind the top six. They're now gearing up for a "tough" trip to Everton, with head coach Marco Silva looking forward to returning to "a special place" in Goodison Park, where he was in charge for 19 months.

The Cottagers have had some good results against Everton recently, winning three and drawing two of their last five games. They've also kept four clean sheets in that period.

Fulham will be eager to make another fast start on Saturday. They've scored first in each of their last five Premier League games, but they've lost their last two. In Premier League history, only six teams have lost three consecutive games when scoring first. The most recent example was Sheffield United in April and May of last season.

Recent Performance

Everton Premier League form:LLDWDW

Everton form (all competitions):LLDWDW

Fulham Premier League form:DDWWLL

Fulham form (all competitions):DLWWLL

Injuries and suspensions

Everton

19 Vitaliy Mykolenko

23 Séamus Coleman

22 Armando Broja

Fulham

5 Joachim Andersen

21 Timothy Castagne

20 Saša Lukić

Team News

Tim Iroegbunam, Youssef Chermiti and Armando Broja are all still out with foot injuries, while James Garner is also ruled out and will have a back problem assessed by a specialist.

However, Dyche has said that Jarrad Branthwaite and Jesper Lindstrom will both be in the squad for Saturday's game. Branthwaite has recovered from a thigh injury and Lindstrom is available after missing last weekend's game because he was ill.

It looks like Abdoulaye Doucoure and Idrissa Gueye will be partnering up in centre midfield, with the in-form playmaker Dwight McNeil operating in the number 10 role. Ndiaye and Jack Harrison should provide support from wide areas for central striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Fulham have a few injury worries. Sasa Lukic (shoulder) and Timothy Castagne (hamstring) are both out, while Jorge Cuenca (ankle) and Carlos Vinicius (calf) will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Joachim Andersen will be out for one match after being sent off against Aston Villa, so Issa Diop is likely to play in central defence with Calvin Bassey.

Raul Jiménez has scored three goals in his last four Premier League appearances and is expected to continue up front, with support in the final third from Adama Traoré, Emile Smith Rowe and former Toffees winger Alex Iwobi.

Possible starting lineups

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Doucoure; Harrison, McNeil, Ndiaye; Calvert-Lewin

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz