Venue: Goodison Park

Date: 27/08/2016

Kick-off: 15:00 (BST)

Match

There was a lot of optimism surrounding Everton this summer and understandably so. Highly rated Ronald Koeman had been appointed as manager and it was believed that the Dutchman would be given a lot of funds to improve his squad.

A bit surprisingly though, Everton have not spent too much cash on the transfer market this summer but this may be in part due to the fact that Koeman feels that he already has a very good squad at his disposal.

Everton have made a positive start to their campaign by earning good results against the likes of Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion and Yeovil Town, and it will be interesting to see if the Toffees will be able to continue their good run of form against a tough Stoke City side this weekend.

Everton Team News

Seamus Coleman remains out injured while the likes of James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverley have all been rated as doubts ahead of the clash.

Koeman played with a four man defence in the encounter against West Bromwich Albion last weekend and it looks like he will stick to a similar formation on Saturday as well.

Maarten Stekelenburg will be starting in goal while the backline should consist of Mason Holgate, Ashley Williams, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines.

In midfield, Gareth Barry and the impressive Idrissa Gueye look set to start once again while the central attacking position should be occupied by Ross Barkley.

Out on the wings, Gerard Deulofeu and Kevin Mirallas look set to be starting while Romelu Lukaku should be fit in time to lead the line for the Toffees. Arouna Kone and Aaron Lennon will provide the other options for Koeman to choose from.

Probable Lineups

Everton (Probable XI): Stekelenburg; Baines, Williams, Jagielka, Holgate; Mirallas, Barkley, Gueye, Barry, Deulofeu; Lukaku

Stoke City (Probable XI): Given; Pieters, Wollscheid, Shawcross, Bardsley; Imbula, Whelan, Allen; Arnautovic, Bojan, Walters

Last Meeting

06/02/2016 Stoke City 0 – 3 Everton

28/12/2015 Everton 3 – 4 Stoke City

Prediction

Everton have made a decent start to their campaign and they seem to be favourites for the clash on Saturday against a Stoke City side which has not looked all that impressive.

That being said, Stoke did manage a 4-3 victory over Everton during their last visit to Goodison Park and the Toffees should be wary in order to avoid a similar feat.

The clash is sure to be a very competitive one but Everton do look too strong and should be able to claim the three points from the encounter.

Everton 3 – 1 Stoke City