Everton travel to Leeds hoping to gain momentum ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

Frank Lampard’s team are without a win in the Premier League so far, after two losses against Chelsea and Aston Villa, and two draws with Nottingham Forest and Brentford.

The hosts had started the season in great form, with wins over Wolves and Chelsea, and a draw with Southampton before a 1-0 defeat to Brighton halted their progress last time out.

They have not won against tonight’s opponents at home in the Premier League since Robbie Fowler scored twice in a 3-2 win on 19 December 2001.

On the other hand, the Blues have made their worst start to a league season in 12 years, and have one win in their last 19 away matches in the competition, so it promises to be an interesting contest. 

Team News

Leeds

Junior Firpo, Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling are ruled out.

Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper face fitness tests ahead of kick-off, with a groin injury and a calf problem respectively potentially keeping them out.

Everton

New signing Neal Maupay could make his debut for the Blues after signing from Brighton.

The clash will come too soon for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with his knee injury expected to keep him out until mid-September.

Lampard said last week: “If he trains in the middle of next week - will that make him available for Liverpool? That'll be tough, but can we start to look after the games after that?”

Ben Godfrey, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend are also absent for the visitors.

Predicted lineups

Leeds: Meslier; Kristensen, Koch, Llorente, Struijk; Roca, Adams; James, Aaronson, Harrison; Rodrigo

Everton: Pickford; Keane, Coady, Tarkowski; Patterson, Onana, Iwobi, Mykolenko; Gordon, Maupay, Gray

  • Key Players

Leeds - Rodrigo

Rodrigo has been the surprise of the season so far, scoring in three out of four league games.

Often criticised for a lack of goals during Marcelo Bielsa’s reign, the £27 million man is finally flourishing at Elland Road.

Jesse Marsch was full of praise for the Spaniard, when he said: “He’s got every physical, technical, tactical quality he needs to be one of the best players in the world.”

He added: “He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s clever, he’s good with both feet, he’s a finisher, he’s good with his head. I still think as good as he’s playing, we can push him to be even better.”

Everton - Anthony Gordon

Linked with a £60 million move to Chelsea, the 21-year-old is Everton’s brightest spark right now.

He has taken 11 of their 23 shots so far this season and got his first goal of the season in the 1-1 draw with Brentford last weekend.

Lampard was quick to dismiss any attitude problems that can arise through interest from a big club.

He has been in Gordon’s shoes, whilst he was at West Ham, their London rivals were sniffing around, and Lampard would go on to become Chelsea’s record goalscorer.

"He's not a robot and all this attention is difficult. I understand that, I was that ambitious young player," he said.

"He wants to be better. He wants to do what he did (on Saturday), which is score goals, run for this team, and that's why he's a delight to work with.

"So there was never any idea that Anthony would act that way."

Match details

Where is the game being played?

The game is being played at Elland Road in Leeds, with a capacity of 37,792 supporters.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off is at 20:00 BST.

How can I watch?

You can watch the game live on BT Sport 1, coverage begins at 19:00 BST. If you do not have BT Sport you can follow the game on VAVEL.com.

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