PREMIER LEAGUE expert Ross Casey (@RossCasey24) shares his thoughts on the Monday Night Football showdown from Goodison Park between Everton and Watford.
Everton v Watford | Monday 10th December 2018, 20:00 | Sky Sports
This is an interesting match with Marco Silva and Richarlison facing their former side, whilst Watford could well have Gerard Deulofeu and Tom Cleverley in their ranks.
Everton have had a decent season, losing just four times so far – but they would have hoped for more wins at this point after drawing more than their fair share.
The Blues have won six of their 10 home games across all competitions however and have lost just once on home soil this season, so that is likely why they are odds-on with a best price of 31/40 with Betway.
Watford, on the other hand, are struggling for, despite their excellent start. In fact, Watford's tally of 20 points is their lowest after 15 Premier League matches since returning to the top-flight in 2015.
The Hornets arrive into this fixture on the back of three straight defeats and you can get a best price of 17/4 with BetVictor that they pull off the upset.
Everton
The fixture list has been very kind to Everton at home this season so far as they have avoided all of the Big Six here and only lost once. This is another fixture where they are expected to get the result. They usually do against the Hornets – Everton have never lost at home to Watford, winning 11 of the 12 meetings at Goodison in their history.
They do have a habit of taking their time to finish teams off, however. Everton have been drawing at half-time in 12 of their 15 league games under Silva. If you fancy draw/Everton you can get 19/5 with Marathon or if you want to just back the draw at half-time you can get 5/4.
As mentioned previously, this is a big game for Silva and Richarlison and for me I think that the Brazilian has a big part to play here. He has seven goals already this season and has netted three in his last three home Premier League matches.
I like the 5/2 you can get on him scoring and Everton winning with Ladbrokes.
Watford
The Hornets have only claimed two victories in their last 11 league fixtures. scored just nine goals in that sequence and they have trouble keeping goals out too. Watford have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 away league matches.
Add in to that their horrible record at Goodison Park, and the loss of Etienne Capoue through suspension and this makes bad reading for the visitors…
The betting angle
My best bet is going to be the 5/2 on Richarlison to score and Everton to win with Ladbrokes.
I always like to back players scoring against their former teams – the Ex-Files are out there – and this looks like a closed case to me.
Best Bets
Everton v Watford – Richarlison to score and Everton to win (5/2 Ladbrokes)
