Preview: Everton vs. Fulham

The Premier League round began early on Friday, with two former league champions clashing at King Power Stadium. Nottingham Forest sat in 8th place before the weekend and climbed to 5th after securing a full three points against Leicester. Jamie Vardy equalized Forest’s lead, but in-form Chris Wood scored two more to ensure victory for the visitors. Forest has now recorded eleven goals this season, with the 32-year-old Wood contributing seven of them.

Today, five more matches are on the agenda before title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal face off in one of Sunday’s four games. Today, we take a closer look at the match between Everton and Fulham.

Solid Defensive Option

Everton has not only kept clean sheets in consecutive matches but has also gone four straight games without a loss. Particularly pleasing is that in the last two matches, against Newcastle and Ipswich, they managed clean sheets despite missing defensive stalwart Jarrad Branthwaite. Replacement Michael Keane has been under fire from Toffees fans in recent seasons, but the former Burnley defender has truly stepped up in recent weeks. In last weekend's 2-0 victory, he even scored the goal that secured the win at Portman Road.

The absence of Branthwaite was especially felt at the start of the season, and Everton recorded four losses and conceded 13 goals in the first four games. Keane has now stepped up, as has the 39-year-old Ashley Young, who has been crucial on both the right and left side of the defense. The veteran brings valuable experience and versatility.

More Options Up Front

Sean Dyche and Everton have long depended on a fit Dominic Calvert-Lewin to find the back of the net, while Beto has only shown glimpses of his value since joining from Udinese. Playing as a striker at Everton is not easy, but after a difficult start, Iliman Ndiaye has proven he could become the prolific scorer The Toffees have long been searching for. The former Sheffield United forward is back in England after a brief spell at Marseille, and following a recent goal against Ipswich, his confidence could be back. This was particularly timely as Calvert-Lewin struggled to find the target in that match.

Promising Start for Fulham

Fulham has taken points from five of their first eight games this season, and while they didn’t score in their last two, those matches were against Manchester City and Aston Villa. Fulham was no pushover in those matches, far from it. Against City, they had numerous chances to secure one or three points, but Adama Traore missed three golden opportunities alone against Ederson. Against Villa, a weak penalty from Andreas Pereira cost them points.

Overall, there’s a lot of positives in this Fulham squad this season. Emile Smith Rowe has been a revelation following his move from Arsenal. Meanwhile, Raúl Jimenez is rediscovering his form from his peak at Wolves, as is Adama Traore. For Traore, only the goals are missing now, but there’s hope for more from Fulham already this weekend. After all, they have an unbeaten record in their last seven meetings against Everton.

Everton vs. Fulham

Everton has found some rhythm but traditionally struggles against Fulham. In four of their last five meetings with the London club, they’ve failed to score, and all three recent home games against Fulham ended in defeat. Everton will still be without Nathan Patterson, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, Armando Broja, and Youssef Chermiti, but Jarrad Branthwaite and Jesper Lindstrøm are fit and ready to contribute.

Fulham has the same number of points after eight games as in the past two seasons, but their ninth game on both occasions ended in defeat. Fulham will rely on the resurgent Raúl Jimenez in front of goal, who has scored in ten of his last twelve starts and contributed points in his last five matches. Fulham will be without the injured duo Jorge Cuenca and Carlos Vinicius, as well as Joachim Andersen, who is suspended following a red card against Villa.

Betting Tips

Today's betting tips from Premier League at The Tipster: This match could go either way, but Fulham’s record against Everton is impressive. The two recent losses don’t weigh too heavily, given the high level of their opponents. We believe Fulham can take points here, so we recommend betting on Fulham with Draw No Bet. Other interesting options include betting on Jimenez to contribute with goal points and for both teams to score.