Mark Lawrenson predicts scoreline of Everton v Brentford in FA Cup
Mark Lawrenson predicts Everton to beat Brentford at Goodison Park on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth round.
Frank Lampard will take charge of the Blues for the first time this weekend after he was hired as Rafa Benitez’s successor on Monday.
Lawrenson feels that Lampard’s arrival, as well as the signings of Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek, will help the Toffees surge up the Premier League table.
And he also feels that the new manager bounce at Goodison will help Everton out in the FA Cup, predicting them to beat Brentford 2-1 on Saturday.
“Everton fans will have to wait to see new faces Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli in action, because they are both cup-tied,” Lawrenson said on the BBC Sport website.
“But there will still be a really positive mood around Goodison Park for the start of the Frank Lampard era, and understandably so.
“As well as their new signings, the Toffees have got some key players coming back from injury and, with the fans onside again, I’d expect them to climb the table quickly. A cup run would be a nice bonus too.
“Brentford have hit a bit of a sticky patch in the league, where they have lost their past four games.
“The Bees are not in the kind of form to ruin Lampard’s party but Christian Eriksen is a clever signing and I don’t see them being dragged into the relegation battle despite all the teams below them having games in hand.”
Great way to start
Lampard could not really have wished for a better first game in charge of Everton.
He’ll lead the Toffees out at Goodison Park and will also be overseeing an FA Cup match.
While we want to see the Blues go as far as they can in the FA Cup, there has to be less pressure on him in this game than there is in the Premier League.
It gives Lampard a chance to assess his players ahead of three massive fixtures against Newcastle, Leeds and Southampton.
If he puts out as strong a team as he can against Brentford, it’ll give him the best assessment of his best players and then he can tinker with things ahead of the trip to St James’ Park next week, when he should have Alli and van de Beek available too.
We agree with Lawrenson in predicting a win this weekend against the Bees.
Their form isn’t great and the new manager bounce should have the Evertonians buzzing.
Goodison Park should have some atmosphere on Saturday.
In other Everton news, the Blues have agreed a deal in principle for a major backroom addition.