Venue: Goodison Park
Date: 09/04/2017
Kick-off: 16:00 (BST)
Match
Everton welcome Leicester City to Goodison Park on Sunday and the match is certain to be a very tough test for the Toffees against the in-form Premier League champions.
Everton suffered an extremely disappointing 3-1 defeat against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby but Ronald Koeman’s men managed a decent 1-1 draw in the encounter with Manchester United at Old Trafford in midweek.
While Everton could have earned all three points against United, manager Ronald Koeman would perhaps have been quietly pleased with getting something out of the game at the very least and now the Toffees prepare for an encounter against Leicester City at Goodison Park.
Leicester are in brilliant form at the moment under caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare and it will be interesting to see if Everton are able to end the Foxes’ stunning six match winning streak.
Everton Team News
Everton will be without the services of three key defenders in Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori due to injuries while Ashley Williams is also unavailable after picking up a red card against Manchester United.
In the place of Williams, young Matthew Pennington is expected to fill in while the rest of the backline should consist of Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Mason Holgate.
At the middle of the park, Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin are expected to start and the attacking midfield areas is expected to consist of the young trio of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ross Barkley and Tom Davies.
Romelu Lukaku has endured a frustrating time over the past two matches and one can be sure that the Belgian international will be raring to find the back of the net against Leicester this weekend.
Probable Lineups
Everton (Probable XI): Robles; Baines, Jagielka, Pennington, Holgate; Gueye, Schneiderlin, Calvert-Lewin, Barkley, Davies; Lukaku
Leicester City (Probable XI): Schmeichel; Fuchs, Benalouane, Huth, Simpson; Albrighton, N’Didi, Drinkwater, Mahrez, Okazaki; Vardy
Last Meeting
07/01/2017 Everton 1 – 2 Leicester City
26/12/2016 Leicester City 0 – 2 Everton
07/05/2016 Leicester City 3 – 1 Everton
Prediction
Everton have failed to beat Leicester City in their last three consecutive games at Goodison Park and rectifying the record on Sunday will be a difficult task again, especially considering the Foxes fine run of form.
In addition, Everton’s backline has been decimated due to a number of unfortunate injuries and as a result, the Toffees could well have to settle for a draw on the day.
Everton 1 – 1 Leicester City
