(Football news) Arsenal will look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to eight points with a win over Everton at Goodison Park. With Frank Lampard’s departure, Sean Dyche will hope to get an unlikely result against in-form Arsenal in what could be the start of a difficult journey to ensure survival in the Premier League. West Ham United defeated the Toffees 2-0 last week courtesy of Jarrod Bowen and Sean Dyche undoubtedly has his work cut out for him to get the disgruntled fans back on his side.
Everton are currently 19th in the Premier League and have a four-game losing run in all competitions, failing to win a single game in 10 matches since they defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 on October 22nd. However, the Toffees have managed to score in their last three contests and have given Arsenal a good fight at Goodison Park in the last few years.
As for Arsenal, the Gunners lost to Manchester City in last week’s fourth round FA Cup match but will look to bounce back this time around. The Gunners are on course to match the Citizens’ centurions of 2017-19 if they continue their run of form and are unbeaten in 13 top flight matches. However, Mikel Arteta will be wary of complacency as Arsenal have lost each of their last two games against Everton at Goodison Park.
In team news, Everton will be without Andres Townsend and Nathan Patterson while James Garner is recovering from a back problem. Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey are still recovering from knee injuries, which might force Dyche to revert to a 4-4-2 formation that he adopted at Burnley or adopt an ultra-defensive approach to restrict Arsenal and potentially salvage a point. The likes of James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewis are expected to feature in the starting lineup.
As for Arsenal, Mohamed Elneny is sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing a knee surgery but new signing Jorginho could feature from the bench. The likes of Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe will also be unavailable but Reiss Nelson has returned to training due to a thigh injury. Thomas Partey is expected to return to the starting lineup after recovering from a rib injury as the Ghanaian featured from the bench at half time against Manchester City. Any result apart from an Arsenal win will be a big upset in this fixture.
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