Burnley vs Everton
English Premier League. Kick-off: 3pm, Wednesday 26th December
CHRISTMAS dinners would have tasted a little bit bitter for the blue half of Merseyside after Sunday's 6-2 hammering by Spurs left them on a downer.
That made it five games without a win for Marco Silva's side after a decent start to the season had fans dreaming of a new era under their Portuguese gaffer.
Silva's standing is still pretty high despite the recent poor run but there may start to be some grumbles if Everton fail to stop the slide at Burnley.
This is the kind of awkward fixture the Toffees could do without and struggling Burnley could ask more questions of a rearguard that has leaked 11 goals in just three games.
Although Sean Dyche's side slipped to another defeat at the weekend they made Arsenal sweat right until the end before Alex Iwobi's late goal sealed a 3-1 victory.
888 Sport still make Burnley 17/5 outsiders, with Everton 10/11 and the draw 12/5. It all depends on what kind of reaction Silva gets from his players after the Spurs thrashing but I think he'll make a few changes and that should be enough to get Everton a much-needed win.
Squad depth counts for a lot in the hectic festive fixture schedule and Burnley just don't have enough quality in reserve, especially with Robbie Brady, Steven Defour and Aaron Lennon injury doubts.
To get a bit more value, try backing Everton to win with both teams to score, which is available at 3/1 with 888 Sport.
The Clarets are fighting for their lives at the bottom so there could be a few yellow cards. There were seven bookings in the Arsenal game, with Burnley picking up five, and over 4.5 cards for this match looks good at 17/10 with 888 Sport.
Brazilian winger Bernard could come in to freshen things up for Everton and looks value at 15/4 for anytime scorer. If you fancy him to net first, the odds lengthen to 17/2. A decent long-odds option may be for Michael Keane to score against his old club and the defender is 19/2 for anytime scorer.
Burnley's most potent weapon is Ashley Barnes and the forward is 7/1 to break the deadlock and 11/4 to net at any time in the 90 minutes.
Recommended bets
- Everton win and both teams to score 3/1 (888 Sport)
- Over 4.5 cards 17/10 (888 Sport)
- Bernard anytime scorer 15/4 (888 Sport)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
