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Everton Kick Off The New Year Against Leicester

The end of the football year is upon us, and all that is left to do is pop open the champagne and wait for the New Year’s Day set of games to begin. Of course, there are going to be other celebrations in the midst of all that, but we’ll focus on the fact that football is once again going to be in our lives in around 24 hours time. The Premier League has been thoroughly entertaining throughout the course of 2018, and as we look ahead, it feels like there’s going to be plenty more where that came from – at least, we hope.

Kicking off the festivities tomorrow will be Everton and Leicester City, both of whom could use a boost in momentum. They share similar goals in terms of what they want to accomplish this season, and finishing in the top half should probably be viewed as quite a realistic ambition. They’ve had some entertaining clashes over the years but this time around it’s going to be different – if only because they’ll know that starting off the year is important not only for the club, but for the fans who want to get excited about the 12 months that lie ahead.

Everton have been extremely hot and cold throughout the course of the season, but it feels like that’s what was expected of them. They’re still in the midst of a new regime and they’re trying to figure out what their goals are, which can be something of a difficult thing to orchestrate. The Toffees have the kind of talent necessary to move much further up the Premier League table, but that isn’t how this game works. If they can get off to a good start in 2019, though, perhaps they can ride that wave of momentum all the way through until May.

Leicester have had a tough year following the passing of their chairman, although it does feel like the club is stronger than they have been in a long time. They’re a real unit and they’ve showcased that every single day since the incident, and they’ll likely continue to do so long into 2019 and beyond. It feels like they’re destined for a mid table finish but that wouldn’t exactly be the worst possible result for them. Either way, you can bet that they’re going to come out swinging in the January and summer transfer windows.

In their last six games Everton have really struggled to maintain what you’d call ‘top half’ form, starting off with back to back draws against Newcastle and Watford. They proceeded to lose against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, conceding nine goals in the process. They managed to bounce back in a big way with a 5-1 triumph over Burnley, but a 1-0 loss against Brighton in their last outing kind of erased all of that. It follows the same kind of inconsistent trend that they’ve been on for god knows how long, and you have to wonder how much longer their fans will have to endure it.

Leicester, on the other hand, can’t be figured out by anyone. In their most recent six game stretch they lost 2-0 to Tottenham before a narrow 1-0 loss against Crystal Palace, and then, they fought Manchester City close in the League Cup before being knocked out on penalties. Then, they put together two of the most shocking results of the season so far – beating Chelsea 1-0 before gaining a measure of revenge against City by beating them 2-1 in the Premier League. Of course, they had to even it out, losing 1-0 to Cardiff City a few days ago.

The two sides are pretty evenly matched in terms of the history of the fixture, with Everton leading 42-35 in the overall head to head standings with 32 draws in between. They first met way back in 1908 so it’s safe to say there’s been quite a bit of back and forth, and in their last meeting in October, the Toffees won 2-1. Everton have always been a prominent side in the realms of English football, though, even more so than the Foxes, so it’s impressive to see that they’ve had quite a lot of success over the years.

Richarlison is expected to return from his recent spell on the sidelines after a knock, which is probably the biggest boost they could of hoped to have. Ademola Lookman is going to be a game day decision regarding whether or not he’s fit enough, courtesy of his recent ankle problem. Aside from that they should have a fully fit squad, which you’d think will only ramp up the pressure on them. With that being said the schedule will get a little bit tamer over the course of the next few weeks, so there’s no real reason to rest players in this one.

Leicester have a few lingering issues to deal, with Wes Morgan and Jonny Evans both struggling with illnesses. They should have enough in them to get back to full fitness, but a lot of that will depend on the selection process of the boss. Choudhury is expected to return although James and Amartey will definitely be out. That might allow for some more freedom with the team selection, with Leicester being well known for bringing through players that some may have never heard of before. Either way, they shouldn’t be afraid of coming forward with their options against a side like Everton.

Everton vs Leicester Betting Prediction

Both sides are quite similar in the sense that they’ve got explosive players who can create moments of magic if necessary. We can see them cancelling each other out over the course of the first half hour or so, before a moment of magic from Richarlison gives the home side the lead. Leicester will equalise before half time setting up a grand stand second half, in which the two sides trade shots over the course of the entire 45 minutes. That sounds a little bit overly optimistic in some ways, but we’re just going to go with it.

Then, with around 10 minutes remaining, the Foxes will score and take the lead – eventually holding onto the lead and securing the three points. It just feels like the kind of game that Everton are going to mess up and while that sounds a bit harsh, we’ve seen them drop games of this nature in the past. They should have a bit of cash to spend in January but it’s a case of getting through the first few games of the new year first. We think it’s going to be an entertaining game one way or another, but Everton fans shouldn’t hold out too much hope.