EVERTON lock horns with Leeds United in a mid-season Premier League relegation six-pointer at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Toffees remain in the bottom three after suffering a 2-0 loss at Merseyside rivals Liverpool on Monday, on a night where my main bet at Anfield landed.
However, that setback last time out will not dictate whether the Blues beat the drop or not, whereas their next fixture will have been earmarked as one where three points are crucial if they are to claw themselves to safety.
After getting the Sean Dyche era at Everton off to the perfect start a fortnight ago as they stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal, the Goodison Park faithful would be more than happy for a similar scoreline when Leeds come to town this weekend.
Managerless Leeds went toe-to-toe with Manchester United for the second time in five days after drawing 2-2 at Old Trafford last midweek, only to come up short as the Red Devils ran out 2-0 winners, earning me an Elland Road clean sweep in the process.
That defeat has left them perched precariously above the Premier League basement zone and they would be leapfrogged by their opponents here in the event they exit Merseyside empty handed.
Outright Betting
Everton are 11/8 (Bet 365) favourites to record back-to-back home wins for what would be the first time this season.
Leeds United have won only once on the road this season and the bookies' odds suggest those away day blues could be set to continue, with a Whites win trading at 2/1 (Bet 365) while the stalemate pays 9/4 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
With neither team making appeal in the 1×2 market here, I'll get creative and combine Everton Double Chance, Everton to Score and Each Team to Receive a Card at 5/6 (Bet 365).
Although Sean Dyche has only been charge for a few weeks, the Toffees have definitely demonstrated marked improvement under his tutorship, so much so that I fancy them to at least avoid defeat on Saturday.
Everton were roared to victory at home to Arsenal two weeks ago and a similar Goodison atmosphere can power them to at least a point against a Leeds side whose travel sickness is showing no signs of remedying itself.
As already alluded to, the Whites have won just once away from home this season, shipping a minimum of one strike in 10 of those 11 outings, as well as 18 of their overall 22 top-flight assignments this term to date.
As such, I'll side Everton to score at least once here, but to round off the 5/6 (Bet 365) Bet Builder, I'll also back both teams to pick up a card in what is a huge showdown in the scrap for survival.
Both of these teams are averaging north of 2+ yellow cards per-game this season, not to mention the above-mentioned Bet Builder would have landed in five of Leeds' last six league games.
Elsewhere, I'm once again prepared to have a small play on Everton's Amadou Onana to make the net bulge here at 9/1 with Bet 365 – the same bet is as short as 9/2 elsewhere.
Onana appears to have been given more freedom to get forward by Sean Dyche and that coupled with Leeds' well-documented issues when it comes to defending set pieces makes the big Belgian worthy of some interest to grab a goal here at a bold price.
This English Premier League match between Everton and Leeds United will be played on Feb 18, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Everton vs Leeds United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
