EVERTON will be seeking some much-needed home comfort when they square off with Southampton at Goodison Park on Monday night.
Carlo Ancelotti's Blues remain firmly in the mix for a top-four berth, but the Toffees have been toppled in three of their last four league matches on home turf.
However, Everton's away form has been excellent this season, with eight wins from their last 12 road trips, the most recent of which was a historic 2-0 win over fierce foes Liverpool.
After smashing their Anfield hoodoo by bagging their first win in the Reds backyard since 1999, Ancelotti will be eager to address Everton's uninspiring home form.
Southampton, meanwhile, are enduring a real period of woe and arrive in Merseyside in the midst of an eight-match winless run in the Premier League.
The Saints tailspin reached eight matches on Tuesday night after being swept aside 3-0 by Leeds at Elland Road, a result that means Ralph Hasenhuttl's side are now looking over their shoulder as their new year slump continues.
Outright Betting
Everton have avoided defeat in each of their last 16 home matches against Southampton and a Toffees triumph here is trading at 11/10 with TonyBet.
Southampton have lost seven of their last eight Premier League matches and the bookies odds suggest that trend is set to continue with both a Saints success and the draw priced up at 5/2 with UniBet.
Betting Angles
Everton should be in a confident mood following their Merseyside derby heroics but the Toffees have been difficult to trust on home turf this term, so I'm going to swerve the match result market and instead head to Bet 365‘s Bet Builder.
If we combine over zero Everton goals and each team to receive over zero cards we can get a nice looking 5/6 play with Bet 365.
Southampton are without a clean sheet in each of their last eight Premier League matches and thanks to their 9-0 trouncing at Old Trafford they now have the fourth-worst defensive record in the division.
What's more, Hasenhuttl's side have shipped three or more goals in each of their last three Premier League road trips.
With that in mind, coupled with the Saints mounting injury list, I'm more than happy to back the Blues to make the net bulge on Monday night.
In order to boost the Bet Builder to 5/6 (Bet 365), I'll also back both sides to pick up a card each – Everton are averaging 1.75 cards per game this season, while Southampton average 1.48 yellows per 90 minutes.
When digging a bit deeper it can be seen that Everton have been cautioned in each of their last 12 top-flight tussles, while Southampton have received at least one booking in 12 of their last 13 league outings.
Indeed, referee Martin Atkinson's card per game average sits at a lowly 2.58, however, the Leeds-born whistler has flashed three or more cards in 16/19 Premier League matches this season.
It's also worth noting that Atkinson has shown both teams a card along with over two match cards in each of his last seven Premier League assignments and that could see value lie with the same formula at Goodison Park on Monday night, a 4/5 shot with Bet 365.
This English Premier League match between Everton and Southampton will be played on Mar 1, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Everton vs Southampton prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
