Everton vs Brighton result predicted by Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson predicts Everton to lose at Brighton on Monday night because the opposition are a “really good footballing team” this season.
There isn’t much time left for Sean Dyche to drag the Toffees out of the mire in 19th, and with a game against Manchester City to follow the Seagulls clash an awful lot of pressure is mounting up for the final two matches against Wolves and Bournemouth.
Brighton downed Manchester United with a morale-boosting 99th-minute penalty on Thursday (4 May), so despite Everton avoiding defeat last time out at Leicester on Monday Lawrenson has gone for a 2-0 win for Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
In his Paddy Power predictions this week he said: “I’ll go for 2-0 Brighton here simply because goals have been a massive problem for Everton all season, despite the fact they got two against Leicester.
“Brighton are a really good footballing team. They’ve been like that the last couple of years but now they’ve added more goals to the team as well.
“That’s made all the difference for them this season and I can see a solid win for them on Monday.”
Time running out
The point at the King Power on Monday (1 May) was better than nothing but didn’t really do a great deal of good to either side when they would both have been viewing it as a major opportunity to climb away from danger.
Dyche has only recorded three points from the previous 18 on offer since the start of April, and the crucial 1-0 wins that were powering the Toffees revival under him are conspicuous by their absence these days.
Brighton are challenging for the Europa League and Everton are notoriously poor on the road so there won’t be many who expect a result on the south coast for this one.
Losing inspirational captain Seamus Coleman to injury during the Leicester draw is also a major blow, so the deck is stacked against the away side.
But there was a period early on in that game where Dyche’s men looked dynamic and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was suddenly the man this side has been deprived of for so long.
So if the players can avoid any of the early set backs that routinely drain confidence out of the side quickly they can push for something, because relying on sides around them losing is a risky strategy.