Everton V West Brom
Date & kick-off: Wednesday, 21st September 2011 – 20:00 (GMT)
- Both teams will rotate their squads for Wednesday’s Third Round tie.
- John Heitinga, Phil Neville, Ross Barkley, Apostolos Vellios, Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi are all in contention for Everton after starting Saturday’s league game with Wigan on the substitutes bench.
- Martin Fulop should start in goal for West Brom; Chris Brunt, Gareth McAuley, Jerome Thomas, Graham Dorrans, Zolton Gera, Simon Cox and Marc-Antoine Fortune are all in the reckoning for a rare start.
- West Brom have won on one of their last eleven visits to Goodison Park – a 4-1 victory in last season’s Premier League.
- Everton are now unbeaten in four games in all competitions, meanwhile West Brom have lost four of six competitive matches in 2011/12, including a 3-0 reverse away at Swansea on Saturday.
One of several all-Premiership ties pits David Moyes and Everton against Roy Hodgson’s usually combative but currently out of sorts West Bromwich Albion.
We’re anticipating plenty of changes from both camps to the sides that were in Premier League action over the weekend, the pair who endured contrasting outcomes. Everton’s renaissance continued with a gritty home win over Wigan, 3-1, whereas West Brom became the first club to lose outside of England when they were comprehensively beaten by Swansea in Wales, 3-0.
The strength of both managers’ squads will prove decisive in determining a winner, and I have to say there isn’t a great deal to choose between them.
Baggies boss Roy Hodgson has a very strong squad, one that in the last round he rotated to devastating affect: goals from Jerome Thomas, Simon Cox and a Marc-Antoine Fortune brace sealed an empathic 4-1 win away at League One Bournemouth.
Everton, meanwhile, despite a brief scare early on, did eventually win with an element of ease and panache as they also overhauled League One opposition – Sheffield United their victims in a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park. Since then, the Toffees have gone from strength to strength, going on to take seven points from their subsequent three league fixtures, and with confidence now extremely high, coupled with home advantage, where they’ve notched five times in their last two games, David Moyes’ men will take all the beating.
It has been a dismal start to the season for West Brom who, after five league games, prop up the table down in 20th. A rout in Swansea at the weekend was their fourth reverse of the campaign, and arguably their poorest display under Roy Hodgson. So worrying times then in the Midlands, even at this early stage. Their next league game at home to Fulham couldn’t be any more important.
A significant factor could be who Everton play next in the league, which just so happens to be high-flying Man City at Eastlands. Moyes will be reluctant to name his strongest eleven but will also guard against complacency as well as the prospect of seeing their encouraging four-game unbeaten run in all competitions evaporate into thin air, not to mention a shot at a first trophy for seventeen-years.
There are, however, several in this Everton team/squad who are desperate for some playing time – new signings Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi very much included. Louis Saha, who has been forthright about airing his views on his recent lack of playing time, could also be drafted in.
So, it should be a competitive line-up at the very minimum that David Moyes selects, but whether that will be enough to wear down West Brom’s resilience – whom dumped out Manchester City at this stage of proceedings in last season’s tournament – remains to be seen.
At first I was leaning towards a very tight contest, but West Brom’s woeful display at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday really has put the cat amongst the pigeons, especially as elsewhere Everton grounded out their third win in four games, eventually dispatching of a resilient but toothless Wigan.
However, there will be a number in that Everton dressing room eager to impress the gaffer, players who could have a telling impact in that all-important game-winning area of the pitch: the final third. Couple that with home advantage, which is often crucial in cup ties, and Everton are the way to go I feel.
There may also be a slice of value in the odds of Both Teams Scoring. Three of the previous four encounters between the two at Goodison Park have featured both teams netting, while neither have been masterful at keeping clean sheets this season.
Betting Tip: Everton to WIN – 8/11 Ladbrokes
Value Bet: Both Teams to Score – 10/11 WilliamHill
