Lewis Jones predicts Everton clash v Brighton
Sky Sports pundit Lewis Jones predicts that an ‘Expertly organised in defence’ Everton side will register an away victory against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night.
Brighton have been the least-clinical side in the Premier League this season – scoring only 33 goals from an xG (expected goals) of 44.99.
Jones expects more of the same when they face an Everton side who look like an organised and meticulous outfit without the ball under Carlo Ancelotti’s tutelage.
In his Sky Sports column, the pundit predicted a 2-1 away win for Everton and wrote, “When calculating expected goals minus expected goals against, Brighton come out with a +15.5 ratio this season while Everton, despite being on the cusp of European qualification, have a habit of labouring when it comes to xG, posting a -3.08 ratio using the same formula.
“Carlo Ancelotti’s team are expertly organised in defence and despite not creating many chances, they know how to play away from Goodison Park, winning seven of their last 10 Premier League games on the road.”
Dark horses for top four
We sit pretty in eighth place with nine matches left to play – meaning winning our game in hand puts us within two points of the top four.
Everyone is talking about West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea vying for the final Champions League spot, but we are certainly in with a shout.
After the Brighton encounter, two tricky fixtures are in the offing against Tottenham and Arsenal.
However, once we face the North London duo, Aston Villa, West Ham, Sheffield United and Wolves are our next four opponents.
It’s not unrealistic to predict a minimum of nine points from those four games, and hopefully an upset result against Arsenal or Tottenham, both of whom are struggling to recapture their form.
Richarlison has scored six in his last 10 and it’s important that the Brazilian is now sharing the offensive load with Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The table could look very different in the next few weeks and we could be closer to achieving our Champions League dream.
In other Everton news, Alan Brazil urges Chelsea to sign Everton talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin