Everton will be hoping to get back to winning ways as they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley who coming off consecutive losses.
All of the hosts seven points have come at home so this will be no easy task for the Toffees who haven’t played in front of their home fans for two weeks. Everton have only lost one game away from home, picking up seven points from a possible 12.
Back to back away games in the Premier League is no easy feat but Ronald Koeman’s side won’t be looking to sit and defend this weekend like they did last week against Manchester City.
The Blues play some of their best football when they dominate the possession and they are likely to have that this Saturday at Turf Moor.
A resilient defence facing a misfiring attack
Burnley are the joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League and face the second best defence in the division. Everton have only conceded six goals this season, a world away from their defence of recent years, which is only bettered by Tottenham Hotspur who have conceded four.
The hosts have missed Andre Gray since he was sidelined through suspension. Sam Vokes is a viable option up front but they found their most joy in front of goal from their midfield, in particular, Steven Defour.
Defour will miss the visit of Everton through injury so Sean Dyche will be looking to midfielders Jeff Hendrick and George Boyd to create chances and also get on the scoresheet.
The Belgian has been pivotal for Burnley so far this season, creating the most chances of any Burnley and also leading the team in assists.
Dyche also has the option of Patrick Bamford but opting for two strikers could allow Everton to find space easier than they would against a compact Burnley defence.
Team news
Leighton Baines is set to miss the trip to Turf Moor after suffering a setback in his return from injury. The England international was expected to make the trip to face Manchester City last weekend but picked up a knock on Friday that has kept him out for another week.
He will likely be deputised by Bryan Oviedo who grew into the game against City. The Costa Rican is better in attack than defence and should be able to play his natural game against Burnley.
Ross Barkley could earn a recall to the Everton starting XI after watching from the bench last weekend. In his pre-match press conference, Koeman acknowledged the fact his time have to be better in attack and creating chances.
Being benched could be the spark Barkley needs to assist Romelu Lukaku in spearheading Koeman’s attack.
Aaron Lennon is also available after missing last weekend.
Ashley Barnes and Steven Defour will miss the game for Burnley through injury while Andre Gray serves the fourth and final game of his suspension for past posts on Social Media.
Likely line-ups
Burnley: (4-5-1) Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Berg Gudmundsson, Marney, Hendrick, Arfield, Boyd; Vokes.
Everton: (4-2-3-1) Stekelenburg; Coleman, Jagielka, Williams, Oviedo; Barry, Gueye, Mirallas, Barkley, Bolasie; Lukaku.
Match day stats
- No Everton manager has won more points from their first eight Premier League games in charge than Ronald Koeman, 15.
- Burnley have scored in each of their last 18 home league games against Everton.
- Dean Marney has scored three Premier League goals in his career, Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City, all three have been against Everton.