West Brom vs. Everton Preview

A tight affair is in store at the Hawthorns on New Year’s Day when West Brom take on Everton, with both clubs coming into the match on the back of difficult Boxing Day fixtures.

Roy Hodgson’s men are struggling to find any real rhythm this season and were brought crashing down to earth in December after losing at home to Wigan Athletic.

This could really prove to be a key fixture for Albion who will not be expecting to improve their points tally on December 26 against Manchester City.

In terms of the games which West Brom need to win in order to stay up, Everton look a much more realistic scalp than Roberto Mancini’s super rich high flyers.

Similarly to West Brom, Everton have been held back by a lack of financial clout and they have now slipped into a prolonged period of mid table mediocrity.

Equally, Everton will be scrapping away for points during the festive period as they try to lift themselves away from the bottom three.

The Toffee’s face off against Sunderland on Boxing Day and the outcome of that match is likely to have a massive impact on their approach to this fixture and the mind-set of granite tough boss David Moyes.

Although this match suggests a draw in so many ways it could be worth siding with Everton providing that they are in good spirits after their trip to the Stadium of Light.

At 6/4, they are good value to walk away with the spoils and on paper they have a much better first eleven than the hosts.

Obviously, Moyes’s men have to play to the best of their ability but if they can reach that level they should be far too strong.

This is also taking into account West Brom’s flaky home form which has seen them turned over on four occasions already this season.

Conversely, Everton have held a decent standard on the road and have managed to bag three away wins from their first six outings outside of Goodison Park.

Everton also tend to get stronger around this time of year and although their squad is considerably thin they have the quality and potential to go on a winning run.

David Moyes continuously seeks to make the best of what he has got and he has done a sound job on limited resources for a number of seasons.

But one of his main assets, Marouanne Fellaini is heavily relied upon to provide a creative edge for the team so his influence on the game should be all important – as is that of Aussie star Tim Cahill who has arguably lost his way a little over the past twelve months.

A win for either side will surely consolidate a mid-table place within the Premier League for the time being so there is a massive amount at stake for both Hodgson and Moyes who will not want to celebrate the New Year pitched in amongst the bottom clubs.

Go To bet365

#Ad

07/01/2012     © Frixo 2024