Match Preview: Everton v Brighton
Only once before have Brighton and Hove Albion won four games in a row in the top flight. That came in the Great Escape from relegation in 1981.
The Albion looked doomed for relegation in their second season in the old Division One before they picked up 12 points from 12 in their final four matches against Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Sunderland and Leeds United.
History beckons for the class of 2018, or at least record-equalling history. If Brighton can win away at Goodison Park, it will be four wins in a row which would set up a shot at the outright record away at Cardiff City next week.
That should make for an exciting afternoon at Goodison Park, and even if it isn’t that exciting then it can’t be any worse than our last visit to the Blue half of Liverpool in March, can it?
Who are Everton?
Everton have existed for 118 seasons and have spent 114 of those in the top flight of English football, making them in terms of time spent at the highest level the most successful English club of all time. The only times they haven’t dined at the top table were in the 1930-31 season and for three consecutive campaigns between 1951 and 1954. The Toffees have racked up nine titles, five FA Cups and one UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Their most successful decade came in the 1980’s under Howard Kendall, when they won two of those titles and one of those FA Cup with a brilliant team led by Howard Kendall and spearheaded by Gary Lineker. Despite also lifting that Cup Winners Cup in that period, they never got the chance to truly compete in Europe as their dominance came at a time when English clubs were banned from continental competition after rioting Liverpool fans were responsible for the deaths of 39 mainly Juventus fans in the Heysel disaster. Quite ironic when you think about it.
What are they like now?
Everton’s recent experiences have highlighted just how difficult it is to break into the top six. They were comfortably the seventh best team in the Premier League in 2016-17 under Ronald Koeman and invested heavily last summer to try for a genuine tilt at Champions League football. The result was Koeman being sacked within 10 games, a bodged attempt at poaching Marco Silva from Watford and having to beg Sam Allardyce to put down his pint of wine and save the club from relegation. He did that, leading them to the top 10 before they finally got Silva this summer, who had rather brilliantly been sacked by Watford after Allardyce was appointed. It’s too early to tell whether the appointment is a good one but already this season appears to be an improvement on last year’s write off.
Which players should we be worried about?
Jordan Pickford has established himself as England number one after a string of brilliant performances during the Three Lions run to the semi final of the World Cup. He’s also gaining a reputation as something of a penalty saving expert which bodes well for the Albion with our shocking record from 12 yards. Plenty of eyebrows were raised in the summer when Silva raided Watford for Richarlison at a cost of £50m, but the Brazilian has enjoyed an impressive start to life at Goodison Park with four goals from eight appearances from midfield.
What’s the Albion’s record against Everton like?
What with Everton having spent most of their existence in the top flight and Brighton being crap for most of ours, there have been just 13 previous meetings between the two teams. Brighton have won just two of those, a 3-1 win at the Goldstone in February 1982 and a shock 5-2 win in the FA Cup in 1924, Tommy Cook helping himself to a hat-trick in a result that was described as “sending shockwaves around the country”.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Everton away?
We’ve only been to Goodison Park once and that was last year. The football was completely terrible as Brighton lost 2-0 and Anthony Knockaert was sent off, but we did enjoy a large keg of Paulaner on the train up.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Everton away?
We thought we were in for a significant windfall on that train when spotting a young blonde girl in an Everton shirt wandering around Carriage U during the journey between Euston and Lime Street by herself. Unfortunately, it turned out it wasn’t Maddie McCann and any hopes of receiving a load of reward money went out the window. Maybe that Paulaner wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Whose played for both sides?
Kevin McLeod and Shane Duffy were both players who started their careers at Everton, like a drink and ended up at Brighton. That’s where the similarities between the two end. While Duffy has been a roaring success in the stripes, McLeod managed just 36 appearances over two seasons. He can now be found presenting popular Channel 4 show Grand Designs.
Other than football, what is Everton famous for?
The Everton area of Liverpool has a population of 14,782 and was home to Sir Paul McCartney. The Everton Water Tower was built in 1864 and is a Grade II Listed Building. It plays a vital role in Liverpool due to the fact that 70% of the population are on benefits, meaning that the city gets through an above-average amount of water with so many people sitting around in their houses drinking tea all day.
Where’s the betting value for Everton v Brighton?
Despite the Albion’s recent good form, there was a huge element of luck involved against limited opposition at Newcastle. That did nothing to ally concerns about our disappointing away form and Everton will provide a much sterner test than the Toon Army. Total goals under 2.5 at 10/11 looks promising given last season’s games ended 1-1 and 2-0 while you can also back Everton to win to nil at 13/8.
Prediction
A game in which Everton do most of the attacking and Brighton put in a valiant defensive showing before going down 1-0.
