Everton vs. Tottenham
Venue: Goodison Park
Kick off: 5:30PM
Two teams who have endured disappointing campaigns to date will face off this afternoon when Everton welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Goodison Park.
The hosts go into the weekend sitting only two places and two points above the relegation zone, while Spurs are also in the bottom half having won just twice in the league since the opening day of the season.
It is hard to know which club will be more underwhelmed with their performances so far this season – an Everton side who sit 17th having been tipped to challenge for the top six or a Spurs side languishing in 13th when they were backed to be the closest challengers to Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race.
Today will be the first time these two teams have met while both have been in the bottom half since April 2004, and for Spurs time is running out to turn their form around if they want to at least salvage a top-four challenge this term.
Eight points already separate Mauricio Pochettino’s side from the Champions League spots, while leaders Liverpool are a full 19 points clear of Spurs 10 games into the season following their victory when the two sides met last weekend.
The Londoners will hope for a happier trip south from their second Merseyside visit in as many weeks, but they have picked up just one point from their last three league games and have only won six of their last 22 in the top flight.
Indeed, Spurs have amassed only 23 points from those 22 games – an average which, spread over a 38-game season, would leave them just short of the 40-point mark generally required to guarantee safety.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that Tottenham have been in relegation form for more than eight months now, then, and another defeat on Sunday would be their 19th of the calendar year across all competitions – their most since 2008.
Incidentally, 2008 was also the last time they failed to pick up more than their current tally of 12 points from their opening 10 games of a season, and it is their away form which is the biggest reason behind that.
Only Everton and Norwich have picked up fewer points on the road this season, and remarkably Tottenham’s wait for an away Premier League win stretches all the way back to January, since when they have accrued a measly two points from the 33 on offer.
Indeed, Spurs’ only two away league victories in 2019 as a whole came against Cardiff City and Fulham, meaning that you have to go back to their last visit to Everton – in December 2018 – for their most recent win away to a team currently in the top flight.
It is a woeful record for a side that reached the final of the Champions League last season, but they will be hoping that a return to Goodison – where they won 6-2 just before Christmas last year – will spark a much-needed end to their troubles on the road.
Everton possible XI: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Digne, Delphs, Gomes, Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Tottenham possible XI: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies, Sissoko, Winks, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.