Venue: Stadium of Light

Date: 12/04/2014

Kick-off: 15:07(BST)

Match

Last week’s 3-0 thumping of Arsenal was a testament to how far Everton have come under Roberto Martinez. The Toffees’ were simply a joy to watch and the way they brushed aside an illustrious side like Arsenal proved that Martinez’s men are more than geared up to fight all the way to claim the fourth and final Champions League spot.

Clichéd as it might sound, every game for Everton from now till the end of the season must be seen as a cup final due to the fact that Arsenal probably have an easier run-in compared to Everton and as a result, the Toffees must avoid any slip up.

Sunderland are the opponents next and considering that the Black Cats are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table, Gus Poyet’s men could be more of a sterner test than Arsenal proved to be last week.

Although the Black Cats have been in freefall following their Capital One Cup defeat last month, they certainly tend to make it difficult for visiting teams at the Stadium of Light, as evidenced by their victories over Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea over the course of the season and Everton will certainly have to be at their best to claim all three points from the game.

Everton Team News

Roberto Martinez got his team selection spot-on against Arsenal and the Spanish manager will surely not look to make too many changes to the side this weekend.

However, Leon Osman had to be forced off early in the game against the Gunners last week, after taking a nasty blow to the eye and although he may recover in time for the clash against Sunderland, young Ross Barkley could replace the 32-year old in the starting line-up.

Other than that, the team which started against Arsenal should more or less remain the same, especially with the likes of Darron Gibson, Arouna Kone, Phil Jagielka, Lacina Traore, Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo all ruled out with various injuries.

Tim Howard will be starting in goal and he will be shielded by the excellent back-four consisting of Leighton Baines, John Stones, Sylvain Distin and Seamus Coleman.

The ever so solid midfield duo of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy will start at the middle of the park while Barkley and Kevin Mirallas will provide the creative speak from an advanced position.The likes of Gerard Deuloufeu and Aiden McGeady will also be pushing for starts though.

Martinez’s decision to deploy Romelu Lukaku on the wings proved to a stroke of genius and the Belgian wonderkid will most probably start wide once again and with Sunderland deploying a 3-5-2 formation, the 20-year old’s pace may leave the Black Cats susceptible down the wings.

The tireless Steven Naismith was fantastic against Arsenal and it would only be fair to the Scotsman if he retains his place on the starting lineup once again.

Probable Lineups

Sunderland (Probable XI): Mannone; Alonso, Brown, O’Shea, Cuellar, Bardsley; Ki, Birdcutt, Cattermole, Johnson; Borini

Everton (Probable XI): Howard; Baines, Stones, Distin, Coleman; Mirallas, Barry, Barkley, McCarthy, Lukaku; Naismith

Form

Sunderland: D L L L L

Everton: W W W W W

Last Meeting

26/12/2013            Everton    0 – 1 Sunderland

20/04/2013         Sunderland 1 – 0    Everton

Prediction

Going by history in the fixture as well as the contrasting forms of the two sides, there seems to be only winner heading into the game. However, given the desperate nature Sunderland find themselves in, they will certainly not be giving Everton an easy ride.

While both teams can ill afford anything less than a victory, a loss for Sunderland could bring the curtain down on their status as a Premier League team for this season at least. While on the other hand, Everton also cannot afford to drop points if they are to claim a Champions League spot.

It is difficult to understand how Sunderland will be lining up with Poyet seemingly experimenting with his side while Everton have found their identity under Martinez and will surely travel to Wearside with a clear gameplan.

That being said, Sunderland have got the better of Everton in their last two meetings so one cannot rule out an upset.

The match will be tight one but Everton have too much quality and despite Sunderland’s best efforts, the Toffees should prevail with a narrow victory.

Sunderland 1-2 Everton