Jamie Carragher predicts Everton vs Bournemouth result for Sky Sports
Jamie Carragher has predicted Everton to finally record a win at Goodison Park this season by beating Bournemouth this weekend.
The Sky Sports pundit tipped the Toffees to win 1-0 on the broadcaster’s website on 5 October when the Cherries travel to Merseyside on Saturday (7 October).
Sean Dyche is looking for a rebound after allowing Luton Town to record their first ever Premier League victory last week, to add to a run of four defeats from four at home so far this term.
Bournemouth were hammered 4-0 at home by Arsenal in their previous outing and currently sit inside the bottom three having yet to win a game this season, but are just a point behind the Toffees.
Pressure on
On paper this is exactly the sort of game Everton would be looking for to restore some of the positivity that had built up with back-to-back away wins at Brentford and Aston Villa prior to the Luton loss.
But the team’s form at home has fallen off a cliff and it seems the players are struggling to perform in front of the Goodison fans who have so frequently given them the extra edge they badly needed in the past couple of years.
So in a game where they are already expected to win anyway the expectation is going to be higher, so should the Toffees struggle to break down Andoni Iraola’s men or go behind then it could be a long and tense afternoon.
An early Everton goal would be ideal to boost the players’ confidence and get the crowd up so there will be high hopes Dominic Calvert-Lewin can extend his scoring streak to four consecutive games in the opening exchanges.
The two recent victories, in the league and the Carabao Cup, showed that this side are more than capable of holding their own against most teams in the top flight.
The squad is short of the quality it needs at times but there really should be enough there to keep putting points on the board if they can overcome some of the mental blocks that seem to be plaguing them at Goodison of late.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are looking into an unexpected free transfer swoop amid talks to end a contract early.