Everton Favourites Against Floundering Hull

Everton suffered their first defeat in nine matches in all competitions last weekend away at Tottenham though have the perfect chance to bounce back tonight (3rd December, 19:45) as they host the out-of-form Hull City.

Not having won in six games has seen the Tigers drop into the relegation zone. Steve Bruce`s men picked up three points in three games thanks to three October draws before suffering four defeats in four last month.

As a result, Roberto Martinez`s Toffees are expected to pile more pressure on manager Bruce and are the 11/20 (Numerous) favourites to inflict a fifth loss in as many games on the North East side. A massive 13/2 (betfair, Betvictor, boylesports, Matchbook) says Hull can`t turn around their fortunes at Goodison Park whilst a draw can be backed at 10/3 with bet365, boylesports and Matchbook.

The reason for this lack of faith in the Tyneside club is because they have only scored one in their last five games and have a number of pivotal attacking forces unavailable. Indeed Hull have only won once away from home this season, against QPR back in August.

To first deal with their profligacy, Hull picked up a point in their last game of October against the floundering Liverpool. Neither side could break the deadlock at Anfield. Bruce`s men fell to slight 1-0 defeats away at Southampton and at home to fellow strugglers Burnley before eventually hitting a goal past Tottenham, though this match, too, ended in a loss for the KC Stadium outfit.

Jake Livermore put the Tigers 1-0 up with the game just eight minutes old and the score remained as such until the 60th minute wen Harry Kane equalised. Spurs snatched all three points in the 90th minute as Christian Eriksen netted the winner in the match that saw Gaston Ramirez sent off.

Ramirez`s suspension saw him sit out of the club`s 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United at the weekend and will also see him miss the clash at Goodison Park as a result. Aside from the banning of Ramirez, three goal striker Abel Hernandez has also made himself unavailable. The 24-year-old Uruguayan is currently in his home country on paternity leave after his partner gave birth to their first child. In some good news for the side, playmaker Tom Huddlestone is expected to return after being dropped for the game at Old Trafford.

Everton`s goal scoring form is under no such scrutiny after having netted at least one goal in all of their last five matches in all competitions, though they began November with a 0-0 bore draw at home to Swansea.

Indeed Martinez won`t have everything his own way in that Steven Naismith, who netted the final goal in the Toffees` 3-0 victory over Lille in the Europa League, is a doubt with a hamstring injury. The Merseyside club will also be without James McCarthy for that same reason.

Leon Osman broke the deadlock as Everton hosted the French side before captain Phil Jagielka hit the second. The Blues next game in the Premier League was away at Sunderland and they needed a late Leighton Baines penalty to level up against Gus Poyets` rejuvenated Black Cats.

Having struck against Lille, Osman was once again on the scoresheet as his side took down West Ham United 2-1 at home. Romelu Lukaku grabbed the opener for the Toffees before doing the same away at Wolfsburg days later. A second goal from Kevin Mirallas saw Everton win the game 2-0 and progress through to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Belgian Mirallas was also on song against Spurs last time out though the Whites netted twice to see off a lively Everton.

Having both scored twice in their previous three games, Lukaku and Mirallas are 13/10 (Spreadex) and 11/5 (paddy Power) respectively to hit the back of the net at any time against Hull.

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03/12/2014     © Frixo 2024