da dobrowin： Everton will look to boost their chances of finishing the season in seventh position when they face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
da pinup bet： The Clarets currently lie in that spot and are without a Premier League win since December 12th after surrendering a 1-0 goal lead late on to draw 1-1 with Southampton in Lancashire last weekend, but the Toffees failed to take advantage as they were beaten 1-0 by Watford at Vicarage Road.
The result left the Merseyside outfit in ninth position and three points behind their opponents on Saturday, and it certainly won’t be an easy task to take all three points back south.
While Sam Allardyce’s men have a decent record at home so far in 2018, they have lost five straight matches on the road in all competitions, and haven’t tasted success on their travels since they beat Newcastle United 1-0 in December.
The former England boss will know that his side can’t afford to slip up again this weekend if they are to keep alive their chances of ending the campaign in seventh, and they will certainly take some solace from Burnley’s poor form in recent months.
The 63-year-old made two enforced changes because of injury against the Hornets but otherwise stuck with the same XI that had beaten Crystal Palace 3-1 previously. Following the below-par display from a number of players last weekend, however, he may well be considering making more alterations against the Clarets.
Here is how Everton must line up against Burnley on Saturday, ahead of Jordan Pickford in goal…
Defence
Allardyce was forced into two changes in his backline for the trip to Watford with Seamus Coleman and January addition Eliaquim Mangala both missing out through injury, and the duo were replaced by Jonjoe Kenny and Ashley Williams.
With Mangala definitely out and Coleman a major doubt, those two are likely to continue but there may well be a change at left-back with Leighton Baines potentially making his return after injury.
Cuco Martina has been a reliable performer in Baines’ absence but he struggled against former Toffee Gerard Deulofeu last weekend, and Allardyce should prefer to have a specialist left-back in the form of the 33-year-old on the pitch from the start at Turf Moor.
Midfield
Allardyce has tried a 4-3-3 system from the start of Everton’s last two away matches and with that formation clearly not having the required effect, he should look to change things up at Turf Moor.
A 4-4-1-1 system may be better against the Clarets and would also match up to the one that Sean Dyche usually uses. It would allow the 63-year-old to play both Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie on the wings, with Morgan Schneiderlin returning alongside Idrissa Gueye.
Bringing the Frenchman in for Wayne Rooney, who was disappointing against Watford, and Tom Davies should make the Merseyside outfit more solid defensively. The Toffees also have the wingers in Walcott and Bolasie to provide real threat from the flanks and help their team pick up a vital three points.
Attack
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been playing on the left side of a front three for Everton in recent weeks but he would probably prefer to play a more central role, and he would get that opportunity in a 4-4-1-1 system.
The Iceland international would have something of a free role behind Oumar Niasse up top, and it would potentially allow him to be more influential and have a bigger impact on the pitch for his team. That can only be a good thing for the Merseyside outfit in their quest to turn their poor away run around.
Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.