Everton vs Leicester City: Five key battles and score prediction
Everton host Leicester City in a high-stakes bottom-of-the-table Premier League battle this weekend.
Ahead of the six-pointer, Sports News Blitz writer Jon Shea gives his five key battles and score prediction for the match.
Toffees and Foxes
A huge clash at Goodison Park this Saturday, February 1 as David Moyes’ Everton take on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City side fresh from their win away at Tottenham last weekend.
The Toffees have picked up form themselves with back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
It's a match that could have huge ramifications at the bottom of the Premier League table.
Everton could move ten points clear of the relegation zone with a win and nine points clear of Saturday’s opponents.
Leicester could move to within three points of Everton with a win and create some daylight themselves.
Beto vs Wout Faes
Beto is currently the only striker at Everton who is match-fit.
With injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Youseff Chermiti, and Armando Broja in recent weeks, Everton are devoid of options in that area.
Beto has scored one Premier League goal this season with his last coming in the draw against Fulham back in October.
Beto is an unorthodox striker, with many fans wondering what he is doing at times - not too sure Beto knows himself.
Wout Faes is part of the defence that has only kept one clean sheet all season but is experienced, playing in twenty of Leicester’s league fixtures this season.
Leicester have conceded 49 goals in the league so far this season, only Ipswich and Southampton have conceded more - an aspect I am sure Ruud van Nistelrooy will be looking to nip in the bud if they want any chance of staying up.
James Tarkowski vs Jamie Vardy
James Tarkowski was a key player in Everton’s win against Brighton last weekend.
Despite Idrissa Gueye being awarded Player of the Match, the backline nullified the Brighton attack to very little.
The Toffees have kept eight clean sheets this season and Tarkowski has started every game so far and has barely missed a match since he signed for the Toffees in 2022.
The Englishman has made more clearances than any other defender in the Premier League this season and is not afraid to get his head, leg, or anything else in the way of the ball.
Jamie Vardy was back to his best in terms of riling fans last weekend in the Foxes’ win at Tottenham, letting the Spurs fans know that they are yet to win a Premier League title.
He got himself back amongst the goals, for the first time in seven league matches - his 143rd Premier League goal.
He has seven career goals against Everton in his league career, and he will look to add to that on Saturday and he knows his goals could be crucial in avoiding the drop.
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Illiman Ndiaye vs James Justin
Illiman Ndiaye looks a player full of confidence after scoring two in three since David Moyes was appointed.
The attacking midfielder is fresh from impersonating seagulls at Brighton after converting the penalty that secured Everton all three points.
Ndiaye is Everton’s attacking spark with the most goal contributions this season.
Everton fans have fallen in love with the Senegalese international and if he can play as he has been the last few weeks he will prove a tough task to deal with for Leicester.
The foxes know all about Ndiaye, as he netted at the King Power earlier in the campaign.
Leicester fullback James Justin will have to be on his a-game to stop Ndiaye.
The Englishman however has been dribbled past 18 times this season and is going up against the Ndiaye who has 54 completed dribbles this season.
Ndiaye is not afraid to run at defenders and can prove to be a torrid task for Leicester’s defence.
Jake O’Brien vs Bobby Decordova-Reid
Jake O’Brien has had a tough time this season, falling out of favour under Sean Dyche in league matches despite paying good money for the Irishman.
Moyes has handed him back-to-back starts in the league at right-back and despite being out of position - he has played reasonably well.
He kept Kauro Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey relatively quiet last weekend which is no mean feat for someone with a lack of game time.
It is an experiment Moyes has used in the past at Everton as he would often use Joleon Lescott as a makeshift right-back in his first spell.
Bobby Decordova-Reid had a great day last time out against Spurs having claimed two crucial assists in the victory.
He will have to bring that confidence against Everton to help bolster the Leicester attack.
The Jamaican does only have one league goal this season - a late equaliser against Brighton in December.
He does have a couple of goals against Everton during his Fulham days, most recently in August 2023, scoring at Goodison in a 1-0 win.
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David Moyes vs Ruud van Nistelrooy
Both managers will be desperate to win their first fixture against each other.
Moyes has given Everton a new lease of life since coming in, winning two of his three games in charge.
A win this weekend will equal Dyche’s wins in the league this season in just four games.
Moyes has spoken about how vital it is that Everton begin to move up the table.
They would move above Tottenham with a victory and create a substantial gap between themselves and the bottom three.
What is vital to Everton’s season is to make Goodison a fortress as they head into the final few months of playing at the Old Lady.
A cloud over the victory against Brighton was Everton losing Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala due to injury.
It has been confirmed that Mangala has suffered damage to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), ruling him out for the season.
Calvert-Lewin has a hamstring issue which is likely to sideline him for multiple weeks.
The pressure on Van Nistelrooy has eased slightly with the victory over Tottenham as before that he had lost eight league matches on the bounce.
The confidence gained from that match will have to be taken into this weekend as it is huge for Leicester to get a positive result.
His time at the King Power has been tough but if can drive Leicester away from relegation and save them, it will be some achievement for the Dutchman.
He is missing key players - Ricardo Perriera and Wilfred Ndidi are injured.
On the bright side, the Dutchman has Vardy scoring again.
Leicester do leak a lot of goals, with 49 conceded already this season - only Wolves and Southampton have conceded more - so Vardy’s return is much welcomed.
Score Prediction
With the match being at Goodison, I think Moyes will allow the play to be more free, and if he can get the crowd involved, it could be a tough outing for Leicester.
The number of goals Leicester have conceded in comparison to Everton, I think may be a key factor in the match if Moyes’ side can create the volume of chances they did in their last home match.
Despite the Foxes coming into the match with confidence from their last victory - I do believe it will be Everton’s day at Goodison.
Everton 3-0 Leicester City
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