Venue: Stadium of Light
Date: 12/09/2016
Kick-off: 20:00 (BST)
Everton prepare to square off against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Monday night and Ronald Koeman will be hopeful that his side will be able to continue their good start to the season with another victory.
There was a lot of optimism among the Everton fans upon the appointment of Koeman as manager this summer and the Dutchman already seems to have brought about improvements at the ranks of Goodison Park over the past few months.
It is still early days though and Koeman will know that the good start can be glossed with a single poor result. Therefore, Everton will be desperate to continue their fine run of form and it will be interesting to see if they are able to do so against David Moyes’ Sunderland.
Everton Team News
The likes of James McCarthy, Tom Cleverley, Darron Gibson and Muhamed Besic have all been ruled out of the encounter due to injury but as a huge boost, it has been confirmed that Seamus Coleman has returned to full fitness.
Coleman is now likely to replace the impressive Mason Holgate at right-back while the rest of the backline should be completed with Ashley Williams, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
In midfield, the duo of Idrissa Gueye and Gareth Barry look certain starters due to McCarthy’s injury and in the more offensive positions, the trio of Ross Barkley, Kevin Mirallas and Yannick Bolasie should feature one again.
The likes of Aaron Lennon, Gerard Deulofeu and Enner Valencia are also options for Koeman to choose from in the wide areas if he wants to make any changes. Romelu Lukaku is fit once again and following his international exploits, the youngster will be looking to get off the mark in the Premier League as well.
Probable Lineups
Sunderland (Probable XI): Pickford; van Aanholt, Kone, Djilobodji, Manquillo; Kirchhoff, Rodwell, Januzaj, Watmore, Gooch; Defoe
Everton (Probable XI): Stekelenburg; Baines, Williams, Jagielka, Coleman; Barry, Gueye; Mirallas, Barkley, Bolasie; Lukaku
Last Meeting
11/05/2016 Sunderland 3 – 0 Everton
01/11/2015 Everton 6 – 2 Sunderland
Prediction
Given Everton’s positive start to the season allied by Sunderland’s difficult one, the Toffees should head into the encounter as favourites.
That being said, Sunderland did claim a stunning 3-0 victory over the Toffees in the corresponding fixture last season and the match on Monday will surely not be easy for the away side, especially with David Moyes wanting to prove a point against his former side.
The clash is expected to be a very good encounter but Everton do look the better side and should be able to claim the three points on the night.
Sunderland 1-2 Everton
