Match Preview: Everton vs. Arsenal – Premier League 06.04.204

18 points. That’s the total number of points, combined from what Arsenal claim and Everton drop, that we need to clinch fourth place. With six matches left to play, we could seize fourth place by winning all six, but we don’t have to.  A win on Sunday would drop that magic number to 12—we pick up three and Everton drop three—but even a draw drops the magic number to 15. With numbers like these in mind, Everton has to know that they must win on Sunday.

Everton, after all, lie only four points back and have a game in hand. Their run-in, though, closes with a trip to St. Mary’s Stadium squeezed between visits from Man U and Man City, and both Manchesters will likely be looking to climb or solidify their positions. However, before we or Everton can start the complex algorithms of who’ll drop or claim points in the home stretch, we have to settle up with each other. Considering Everton’s recent run, and their home-form extending back to December (undefeated in eight matches), we will be hard-pressed indeed to waltz in and seize all three points, and anyone looking to last month’s 4-1 win in the FA Cup Quarterfinal should probably re-adjust their expectations, if only because Everton are emboldened and focused on their highest points-total in the Prem since finishing 2008 with 65.

As to the match itself, much has been made of how well Roberto Martinez has recast Everton in his own image—largely gone are the stodgy, stubborn set-ups of David Moyes; in their place is a more free-flowing attacking side, so much so that many have talked up Martinez as an eventual successor to Arsène. I’ll leave that for others to suss out. Having faced Everton twice already, we have a sense of what to expect—lots of attacks down the flanks with Lukaku as a focal point in the final third. When Everton came to the Emirates in December, we seemed to play directly into their hands as Cazorla and Özil each drifted towards center, leaving us weaker against Everton’s attacks down the wings. If our attacking midfielders can remember to stay wide and track back, this will go a long way towards blunting the Everton attack. If this means that we once again see Cazorla play through the middle, and with Podolski and Rosický on the wings, then so be it.

Everton, with their run, seem to be brimming with confidence. However, remember that their last five wins have all come against clubs in the bottom half of the table (Newcastle, in 9^th, is their highest-placed opponent) and that they face just as much pressure to finish strong as we do. What they lack, though, is experience in enduring that pressure. With Martinez’s preseason vow of Champions League qualification now hanging in the balance, they now face the prospect of beating a club that they haven’t beaten since 2007.

Last 3 Meetings

• Arsenal 4-1 Everton  (08.03.2014)
• Arsenal 1-1 Everton (08.12.2014)
• Arsenal 0-0 Everton (14.04.2013)

FACTFILE

• Everton have scored more than one goal just once in 22 Prem matches against Arsenal.
• Everton have 61 points after 31 games, their best-ever take to date.
• Arsenal are undefeated in 14 matches against Everton in all competitions.

INJURIES

Walcott (knee), Diaby (knee), Koscielny (calf), Özil (hamstring), and Wilshere (ankle) remain out, wile Gnabry (knee) and Gibbs (ankle) face late fitness tests. Aaron Ramsey and Nacho Monreal are back from injury.

POSSIBLE STARTING XI

Szczesny; Monreal, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Sagna; Flamini, Arteta; Podolski, Cazorla, Rosický Giroud.

Everton need the win, but this heaps pressure on them. Look to an open match as Everton press forward, leaving space behind for us to flow into, affording both sides chances.

GOONERSPHERE'S PREDICTION

Everton 2-2 Arsenal

https://twitter.com/woolwich_1886

http://woolwich1886.blogspot.com

Don't forget to like us on Facebook, add us to your G+ circle and follow us on Twitter.