EVERTON entertain Southampton at Goodison Park on Thursday evening. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his favourite fancies.
Everton vs Southampton | Thursday 9th July 2020, 18:00 | Amazon Prime
Everton suffered their first defeat since the Premier League resumed in a 1-0 loss against Tottenham on Monday night and I struggle to see the Toffees getting back to winning ways in this encounter.
While their results and performances have generally been decent under Carlo Ancelotti, Everton still fail to convince me. On Monday night they lined up with a midfield four of Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes, Gyfil Sigurdsson and Tom Davies. I cannot be the only person who saw the personnel and wondered how such an immobile quarter could create many chances.
Everton created very little against a Spurs side who I believe were ripe for the taking and I believe Southampton will travel to Merseyside with little fear. The Saints were obviously fortunate to beat Manchester City on Sunday but their performances in general in 2020 should give fans plenty of optimism and they have been excellent away from home throughout this campaign.
Southampton have eight wins and just six defeats on their travels this term. Indeed, since a 2-1 loss at Newcastle at the start of December, they have won six and lost two away from St Mary’s, with victories away to Chelsea and Leicester among them.
Goodison may generally be a tough pace to visit, with Ancelotti’s side recording eight victories at home this term but I do not have a huge amount of faith in the current personnel at the Italian’s disposal. With that in mind I have two Saints-based bets: Southampton Draw No Bet at 31/20 with Paddy Power and Danny Ings to score first at 9/2 with Bet365.
The striker has scored first in two of Southampton’s four games since the Premier League resumed and eight of his 33 across the course of the season. With pay outs if he scores at all, this looks like great value to me.
Best Bets
Everton vs Southampton – Southampton Draw No Bet (31/20 Paddy Power)
Everton vs Southampton – Danny Ings first goalscorer (9/2 Bet365)
