Venue: Goodison Park
Date: 02/01/2017
Kick-off: 15:00 (BST)
Everton welcome Southampton to Goodison Park on Monday and both sides will surely be keen on earning a good result on the day following disappointing results respectively last time out.
Everton have been extremely frustrating so far this season and as a testament to this fact, the Toffees were unable to beat a struggling Hull City side on Friday night after managing only a 2-2 draw.
In truth, the Merseyside outfit were lucky even to have claimed a single point from the encounter and manager Ronald Koeman most certainly would not have been pleased with how his side performed at the KC Stadium.
Now a top four finish looks well out of reach for Everton but they need to keep winning in order to maintain a place in the top seven at the very least and a victory against Southampton at Goodison Park on Monday will be of paramount importance for the Toffees.
Everton Team News
Koeman reverted back to a four man backline against Hull City last time out and it is very likely that the Dutchman will continue with the same system on Monday as well.
With Maarten Stekelenburg still ruled out, Joel Robles looks set to be starting in goal for Everton while the backline should consist of Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka. That said, Ramiro Funes Mori could well replace Jagielka due to the games coming in thick and fast.
Idrissa Gueye is likely to continue at the middle of the park but Tom Cleverley may be handed a start ahead of Gareth Barry to protect the veteran midfielder from going through a burnout.
In the attacking areas, Aaron Lennon, Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas are set to start while Romelu Lukaku will be leading the line for the Toffees as usual.
The likes of Muhamed Besic, Yannick Bolasie, Bryan Oviedo and Matthew Pennington remain ruled out due to long term injury problems.
Probable Lineups
Everton (Probable XI): Robles; Baines, Funes Mori, Williams, Coleman; Lennon, Gueye, Cleverley, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku
Southampton (Probable XI): Forster; Bertrand, Fonte, Yoshida, Cedric; Davis, Romeu, Hojbjerg; Tadic, Rodriguez, Boufal
Last Meeting
27/11/2016 Southampton 1 – 0 Everton
16/04/2016 Everton 1 – 1 Southampton
Prediction
Everton suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton when these two sides squared off against each other back in November and the Toffees will surely be out for revenge on Monday.
It has to be said though that both teams are going through a bit of a rut at the moment and considering how closely matched the two sides are, a score draw could prove to be a possible result from the encounter.
Everton 1-1 Southampton
