Everton and Brighton had an underwhelming last season with the aim for this one being to rectify the situation. If not for their 8-point deduction, The Toffees would have finished with the same point tally as Brighton – firmly in the mid-table. But this points more to the dramatic drop Brighton suffered in the last months of Roberto De Zerbi’s tenure more than anything else.
Everton Team News
Everton is preparing to head out for a special campaign because it will be the team’s last one at Goodison Park. This will be the last curtain-opener for the team at the Grand Old Lady and The Toffees head into with with confidence. Despite some shaky results at the start of their pre-season preparations, namely the losses against Salford and Coventry, Everton picked themselves up with a win over Preston North End and a prestigious 1-1 draw with Roma in their final friendly fixture. Sean Dyche will also have to deal with the departure of star Amadou Onana to Aston Villa and hope that his new signings are up to the task of avoiding a third consecutive opening matchday defeat for Everton.
Brighton Team News
New coach Fabian Hürzeler will have much work to do with Brighton. Following the dramatic drop in form at the tail end of last season, Brighton finished mid-table and with no continental football this season. Several players like Deniz Undav, and Pascal Groß have been sold and others like Ansu Fati have returned to their parent clubs. While still having a solid core of players, Brighton must perform better if they are to improve upon their previous season. And if we are to judge by their pre-season preparations, the team is set just for that having won all of their friendlies and rounding off their preparatory fixtures with an impressive 4-0 win over Villarreal.
Head-to-Head-Games
Brighton has a small advantage over Everton in the last 5 head-to-head games with 2 wins for The Seagulls as opposed to 1 for The Toffees. But the last 2 games between these two sides ended in 1-1 draws. All of the last 5 fixtures featured a goal from both teams, however.
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Everton FC | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | -7 | 38 | LDWLL |
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 51 | LLDLW |
Everton – Brighton Betting Prediction
Opening matchdays are always tough to predict. Based on the pre-season preparations of both, Brighton should be favourites here. But other circumstances do come into play. I for one think that Everton will not lose this game as this will be their final opener at Goodison Park. As hosts, The Toffees have shown in the latter part of the last season that they can get results and their form in their last 2 friendly games shows an improvement. The last 2 games between these teams also ended in draws. However, I believe that we will see a continuation of the trend of both teams scoring, as this has been the norm in all of the last 5 games between Everton and Brighton. Judging by their last friendly games it also seems like a very plausible outcome, one which will be my pick for this game.
Betting Tip: Both Teams To Score: Yes
Bookmaker: Sportsbet.io
Odds: 1.65
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