Arsenal vs Everton
Emirates Stadium is the venue as Premier League top-four hopefuls Arsenal and bottom-half Everton go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking fixture.
Arsenal are on the verge of missing out on a top-four Premier League finish for the sixth year running, following a run of consecutive defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United by an aggregate score of 5-0. Heading into the season finale, the ‘Gunners’ trail the fourth-placed ‘Spurs’ by two points and have to beat Everton and hope Antonio Conte’s men lose at already-relegated Norwich City to secure a fourth-place finish. There’s not much reason for optimism in the London camp, as Mikel Arteta’s men have lost their last three top-flight meetings with Everton and could lose four in a row for the first time since 1924. Conceding first could lead to another underwhelming result, with Arsenal losing 91% of their league matches in which they shipped the opener this term (W1, L10).
On the other hand, Everton pulled off a sensational second-half comeback to turn a 2-0 half-time deficit into an all-important 3-2 home win over Crystal Palace in midweek and secure another top-flight season with a game to spare. However, the ‘Toffees’ have won a league joint-low ten points from their 18 away league fixtures this season (W2, D4, L12) despite going unbeaten on their last two Premier League travels (W1, D1). Adding to Everton’s confidence, they ran out 1-0 winners in this exact fixture in 2020/21, ending a run of 24 league visits to Arsenal without winning. Another victory would see the Merseyside outfit win back-to-back away league matches against the ‘Gunners’ for the first time since 1987.