Everton v Tottenham: Toffees to extend Spurs' away day woes

Under-pressure pair Marco Silva and Mauricio Pochettino cross swords on Super Sunday in what should be an intriguing contest from Goodison Park. Mark O'Haire gives us the betting lowdown...

Everton v Tottenham
Sunday November 3, 16:30
Sky Sports

Everton advance in the EFL Cup

Everton bounced back from their last-gasp defeat at Brighton by progressing to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, overcoming Watford thanks to second-half goals from Richarlison and Mason Holgate against Watford at Goodison Park. The victory eases pressure on manager Marco Silva, who described the midweek contest as "must win".

Both sides were cautious in the first half - lacking quality and intensity as the crowd at Goodison became flat and agitated. But Everton, who had managed the only shot on target in the first half had plenty of opportunities to score after the break; Alex Iwobi and Lucas Digne both hit the woodwork, whilst Andre Gomes had a shot cleared off the line.

Silva's decision to start Moise Kean at right-wing raised eyebrows and the summer signing was curiously hooked at half-time. Nevertheless, the decision was vindicated with a much-improved effort. The Toffees now head into the weekend with much the same squad available as Bernard remains on the treatment table, along with Yerry Mina.

Tottenham improved despite Anfield defeat

Tottenham have enjoyed a rare midweek off and manager Mauricio Pochettino will be hopeful the extra rest and recuperation will aid his ailing troops for their second trip to Merseyside in the space of a week. Spurs were beaten 2-1 at Liverpool last weekend despite taking a lead within 48 seconds of kick-off through captain Harry Kane.

Pochettino's posse defended admirably throughout at Anfield but were unable to stem the tide as the table-toppers turned the screw. Stand-in goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga pulled off a number of impressive saves to keep Liverpool at bay before eventually succumbing to the onslaught. Elsewhere, Son Heung-min twice smacked the crossbar on the counter-attack.

Tottenham were second-best for the majority of the match but few could fault the capital club's effort and application. However, the game did come at a cost with Danny Rose now suspended for Sunday's showdown; Ben Davies will come back into the side with Tanguy Ndombele and summer signing Giovani Lo Celso now pushing for inclusion from the off.

Spurs are opposable favourites

Everton have lost their last two home league games against Spurs by an aggregate score of 2-9 (0-3 and 2-6) and Tottenham are now unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games against the Toffees (W7-D6-L0). The duo are locking horns as bottom-half sides for the first time since April 2004 when David Moyes and David Pleat were the managers on show.

Everton 2.86 start the weekend only two points above the drop zone despite a lavish summer spending spree of over £120m. Even so, the majority of Marco Silva's travails have come on the Toffees travels with the hosts actually collecting seven wins from their last nine home outings, as well as silencing seven of their past 10 guests at Goodison Park.

Tottenham 2.66 are surprise and vulnerable favourites for this fixture. As well as ranking well below Everton on the majority of performance data metrics, Spurs have suffered 18 defeats in all competitions in 2019, been beaten in nine of their last 11 winless away days (W0-D2-L9) in the Premier League, shipping at least two goals in nine of those 11 contests.

When priced as a home underdog at odds of 2.75 or bigger during Marco Silva's reign, Everton have returned W3-D1-L3 and that makes the [2.07] available on the Merseysiders off a scratch 0 start on the Asian Handicap an appealing play. Working in the same way as the Draw No Bet market, we'll see our stake returned should the game end all-square.

Contrasting goal trends

Goals have tended to be a rarity at Goodison Park during Marco Silva's time in charge. Only 10 (42%) of 24 Premier League outings here have crossed the Over 2.5 Goals 1.79 barrier and more recently, eight of the last 11 such showdowns have featured fewer than three goals. Nine of that 11-game sample also saw at least one side fail to score.

Tottenham's tussles fly in the face of such trends, mind. During the same sample, 17/24 (71%) of Spurs' road trips have produced Over 2.5 Goals profit with a chunky 3.05 goals per-game average since the start of last season. All five of the visitors' away days have delivered Over 2.5 Goals this term, with the contrasting stats suggesting the goals markets are best left alone.