EVERTON welcome Leicester to Goodison Park on Wednesday night. Tom Love (@TomLove_18) shares his thoughts on the Premier League encounter.
Everton vs Leicester | Wednesday 1st July 2020, 18:00 | Sky Sports
The life seems to have come out of Leicester of late. There were signs of decline before the season was prematurely halted and it seems to have carried through for the Foxes who now have just two league wins in their last 10.
Jamie Vardy hasn’t looked his sharpest and Ricardo Periera is a big miss at right back. James Maddison didn’t play in the FA Cup loss against Chelsea this weekend and he’s not 100% going to be back in time for this. Leicester are just lacking the craft and guile in the final third and that could spell problems against an Everton side with back-to-back clean sheets.
The Toffees have proved hard to beat under Carlo Ancelotti; they’ve lost just three of their last 16 and seem to have more balance about them these days. It’s a relatively old-school 4-4-2 the Italian has plumped for which makes it easy for players to understand their role. It’s not a team of startling names but they’re playing as a collective, something Everton haven’t done for a while.
The Merseysiders have had a full week to prepare for this one, a rarity these days, whilst Leicester went full strength against Chelsea at the weekend. That could've further affected their fatigue levels and on current form I cannot get with Brendan Rodgers side.
The bookies can’t split the two teams with both priced at 13/8 to win. That means the game is being played off a scratch 0 start on the Asian Handicap and I’ll back the hosts off that line instead of outright because both have been involved in a few draws this year. This effectively works the same as backing Everton Draw No Bet where we will get our full stake returned if it ends all-square.
I’ll also dip into the player props market and I’m keen on Everton left back Lucas Digne to attempt a shot outside the box at even-money with Pokerstars.
Digne is one of the more attacking full backs in the league, you can see that from his average position. But the main angle on this is the fact he’s on free kicks on the right-hand side (and even some on the left) and if Everton get a few fouls in dangerous area against a tired Leicester he’s likely to pull rank.
If Digne does, your bets in as long as he attempts a shot, even if it's blocked, goes wide, is on-target or ends up in the River Mersey – any attempt would get paid out and I’m happy to have a play on that.
This selection landed against Norwich but surprisingly hadn’t in the couple of games before that, however they were against Chelsea and Liverpool. Prior to that he had five attempts in three games, landing two shots outside the box in games against Watford and Newcastle. With that in mind, I’ll also have a small go on the Frenchman to attempt two or more shots outside the box with the same form at a chunky 19/4.
If the prices do go on these then check out Coral who are offering the same bet at pretty much the same prices.
Best Bets
Everton vs Leicester – Everton +0 Asian Handicap (41/50 Bet365)
Everton vs Leicester – Lucas Digne 1+ shot outside the box (1/1 Poker Stars)
Everton vs Leicester – Lucas Digne 2+ shots outside the box (19/4 Poker Stars)
