Everton will entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park with both sides in search of a first win of the season to kickstart their campaign. They have been equally underwhelming thus far and look set to cancel each other out.
The task for Everton this term is to avoid last season’s problems and be well clear of a relegation this time around. However, they are already playing catch-up once again following defeats to Fulham and Aston Villa.
While the 4-0 hammering at Aston Villa last week was humiliating, manager Sean Dyche will be more disappointed with the opening defeat to Fulham. Everton were the much better side in that clash and had more of the clear-cut opportunities but were leg down by some poor finishing.
Everton will be keen to channel that performance on Saturday, although their record at Goodison Park is not the best having claimed just one win from their last five Premier League home matches. The lack of cutting edge in attack is also an issue as the Toffees are yet to find the net this season, a situation now made worse by the injury to striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have made a similar start to the season having lost their opening two matches. They began with a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United before being thrashed 4-1 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in their previous Premier League fixture.
The season might be only two weeks old but Wolverhampton Wanderers appear to already be bracing themselves for a difficult campaign. Their squad appears to be the weakest in the league with the trio of Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore not replaced.
The opening day defeat to Manchester United is an extension of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ poor away record as they are winless in their last nine Premier League matches on the road. Gary O’Neil’s men have lost the last four in that run, finding the net just once along the way.
How the bookies view it
Everton have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/10 with bet365 while 888sport is offering odds of 9/4 for a Wolves win. A share of the spoils is valued at 23/10 by Boylesport.
Recent Head to Head
Everton have a 44-37 advantage with 33 draws from 104 previous matches with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Both teams battled to a 1-1 draw in their last meeting back in May.
Players to watch
Given their problems in attack and coming off a heavy defeat, Everton may resort to Sean Dyche’s trademark defensive approach in order to stem the tide of defeats. James Tarkowski and Michael Keane should continue at the heart of the defence and will be targeting a clean sheet at 15/8 with BoyleSports.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are in a similar situation with Everton and will be desperate to tighten up at the back. Craig Dawson and Max Kilman are the options in defence and will be targeting a clean sheet at 5/2 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
With both teams struggling for goals at the moment, BTTS NO can be considered at evens with bet365. The lack of attacking cutting edge means under 2.5 goals could also be on the cards at 3/4 with 10bet.
There have been halftime draws in two of the last three meetings between Everton and Wolves and a similar outcome is priced at 23/20 with 888Sport.
This English Premier League match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be played on Aug 26, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Everton vs Wolverhampton Wanderers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
