Chris Sutton predicts Everton vs Leicester City result at fortress Goodison Park
Chris Sutton has predicted Everton to make the most of their home advantage and beat Leicester City at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Toffees take on the Foxes in the late afternoon kick-off (5 November), in their first game back on Merseyside since the excellent 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on 22 October, which Sutton expects to be key.
The attack struggled in the goalless draw at Fulham last weekend, but Jordan Pickford excelled in goal, while Leicester’s miserable early-season form has lifted somewhat, with three wins and a draw in their last six, but Sutton has gone for a 2-1 Everton win.
In his BBC Sport predictions column he said: “Leicester are still in the bottom three but it feels like they have turned a corner. They lost to Manchester City last week, but they gave the defending champions a good game and their confidence is up at the moment.
“Even so, I think Everton are going to win this one. As we saw when they beat Crystal Palace a couple of weeks ago, if it is going to happen for Frank Lampard’s side, it is going to happen at Goodison Park.”
Fortress
There were times last season where it felt like the Toffees had no chance of winning if it wasn’t at Goodison, and while things are nowhere near as desperate as they were then the performances do tend to be better at home.
Leicester are a full six places behind Everton and sit in the relegation zone, but a strong win could actually see them leapfrog the home side at the weekend.
The Premier League table is congested and every side is battling to put themselves in a comfortable position before the lengthy break for the World Cup.
Now with a formidable defence and with Pickford increasingly showing his ability, Frank Lampard knows his side can stay in games in a way they often couldn’t last season.
He will need to iron out inconsistency further forward in the line up though, with Anthony Gordon’s form trailing off somewhat more recently, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin still only just back as a regular starter.
The manager may wish to switch up his midfield selection to offer some more creativity, with James Garner a possible candidate to make his first start.
The Toffees were brilliant against Palace, and if they can hit on that formula against at Goodison there are few sides who can beat them, let alone a Leicester side still in the early stages of recovery from a nightmare start.