Arsenal vs Everton – Match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

·14 de dezembro de 2024

Arsenal vs Everton – Match preview and team news

Arsenal welcome Everton to North London this weekend as they look to make it eight unbeaten in all competitions.

Mikel Arteta’s side eased past Monaco in a 3-0 victory in the Champions League during midweek, which puts them in a favourable for qualification to the knockout stages.

Vídeos OneFootball

Arsenal defender Gabriel is set to return to the side after missing the last fortnight with a knock. Saturday’s fixture comes too soon for Riccardo Calafiori while Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain out.

🔴 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝘿𝘼𝙔 ⚪️ 🆚 Everton 🕒 3pm (UK) 🏆 Premier League 🏟 Emirates Stadium
– sábado, 14 de dezembro de 2024

On Friday, Everton received the long-awaited news that a takeover had been granted. The Friedkin Group has gained approval from the Premier League to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% stake in the club.

The Toffees have had a ten-day break from action as their Merseyside Derby game last weekend was postponed due to Storm Darragh.

The likes of Seamus Coleman, Jake O’Brien, Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti all featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the week to build their match fitness.

Injured midfield pair James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam aren’t likely to appear until 2025.

Arsenal vs Everton – Match preview and team news

Form

Arsenal: WWWDW

Arsenal have made the Emirates Stadium a fortress this season and are yet to lose in North London this campaign.

That aforementioned triumph in Europe was their fourth in the competition and saw them climb to third in the standings.

Arsenal are also currently third in the Premier League with Chelsea moving two points above them after the Gunners dropped points last weekend.

William Saliba cancelled out an early strike from Fulham’s Raul Jimenez but Mikel Arteta’s side were thwarted by VAR in their pursuit of a winner.

Bukayo Saka thought he had snatched the full complement of points in West London with an 87th-minute goal. But after consulting the replays the officials spotted that Gabriel Martinelli had strayed into an offside position in the build-up.

Everton: LDDLW

Everton have a five-point cushion over the relegation spots, with a game in hand over the majority of the league.

The unexpected break arguably came at the wrong time for Sean Dyche’s men as they sought to use the momentum from a comprehensive victory over the Wolves.

That 4-0 hammering ended a barren run in front of goal in which the Toffees had failed to score in almost 400 minutes of Premier League football.

That spell has contributed to an unwanted statistic as they have scored the joint second-lowest amount of goals in the top flight (14) with only Southampton (11) recording fewer.

Last Meeting: Arsenal 2-1 Everton, Premier League, 19th May 2024

Arsenal overcame Everton in the last meeting between the teams, which occurred on the final day of last season.

The Gunners needed to triumph to stand any chance of winning the league for the first time in two decades.

But it was the visitors who took the lead against the run of play with Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick beating David Raya.

Arsenal equalised within a matter of minutes with Takehiro Tomiyasu firing a low effort past Jordan Pickford just inside the area.

After the interval, the hosts incessantly pressed for the winner and Kai Havertz came inches away when his header struck the post.

With one minute remaining of normal time, Mikel Arteta’s side punished an Everton error to claim all three points.

An inaccurate pass from Ashley Young was pounced on by Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian found Martin Odegaard who unselfishly picked out Havertz to smash in from close range.

Despite beating Everton, Arsenal missed out on the title by two points to Manchester City, who defeated West Ham.

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Merino, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Havertz.

Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Ndiaye, Gueye, Mangala, McNeil; Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin.

Who is the referee?

Craig Pawson will be the match official. He will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Con Hatzidakis while Andrew Kitchen will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Paul Tierney and he will be assisted by Dan Cook.