Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Goodison Park is the venue as relegation-battling Everton and top-half Brighton & Hove Albion square off in an exciting Premier League showdown.

Everton’s first Premier League point following a wayward three-game losing streak came from an unlikely place as they held defending champions Manchester City to a heroic 1-1 away draw on New Year’s Eve. But that doesn’t mean under-pressure boss Frank Lampard is off the hook by any stretch of the imagination, with the ‘Toffees’ languishing only one point clear of the drop zone. A return to Goodison isn’t necessarily a boost for Everton’s bid to claim their first Premier League win since mid-October, considering they’ve lost three of their last four home league fixtures (W1), conceding precisely twice in each defeat. They can at least find some inspiration in their high-flying home form against Brighton in the Premier League, having won four of their five home H2Hs in the competition (L1).

In the meantime, after a 2-1 win at Southampton on Boxing Day, Brighton found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline against table-topping Arsenal last time out, losing further ground on the European spots. Brighton’s problems with inconsistent performances have seen their four most recent league matches fluctuate between victories (2) and defeats (2). But on a more positive note, after going winless on three consecutive Premier League travels (D1, L2), the ‘Seagulls’ have won their last two away outings by an aggregate score of 6-3. Roberto De Zerbi’s men could make history on Merseyside this midweek by winning three straight top-flight games on hostile turf for the first time. Yet after only winning once in their last five Premier League meetings with Everton (D1, L3), that doesn’t sound realistic.