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With only one Premier League win between them in the early stages of the 2023-24 season, struggling teams Everton and Bournemouth are set to face off at Goodison Park this coming Saturday.
Sean Dyche's Everton squad suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Luton Town in their recent outing, while Bournemouth faced a ruthless Arsenal side and endured a crushing 4-0 loss.
Before their encounter with Luton Town on September 30th, Everton had tasted victory by beating Brentford 3-1 in the Premier League and stunning Aston Villa with a 2-1 win in the EFL Cup third round. However, these consecutive successes seemed to lose their significance when they faced Luton Town at Goodison Park. In that match, Tom Lockyer blocked an Ashley Young clearance to give Luton the lead, and Carlton Morris expertly redirected Alfie Doughty's free kick into the bottom corner. Although Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back for Everton, Luton celebrated their first-ever Premier League win at the final whistle. This result exposed Everton's ongoing defensive issues.
Currently, only goal difference separates Everton, who are in 16th place, from Luton and the relegation zone, with Burnley just behind them. Depending on the results of other matches, Everton could even find themselves at the bottom of the standings, although Sheffield United would need to defeat Fulham and hope for a significant goal difference swing in their favor for this to occur.
Everton has not kept a clean sheet in any competition since the end of the 2022-23 season. However, they have only failed to score in one of their last six matches. Fans at Goodison Park will remember the crucial win over Bournemouth from five months ago.
The last time Everton kept a clean sheet was when Abdoulaye Doucoure scored against Bournemouth, securing Everton's Premier League status for another year. Bournemouth, on the other hand, has had a difficult start to the season and has only managed to secure victories against Championship sides Swansea City and Stoke City in the EFL Cup. Last weekend, Arsenal defeated them comprehensively.
Bournemouth is currently in 19th place and, like Sheffield United, is still searching for their first win of the season. They have gone 11 games without a victory in the Premier League and have conceded at least two goals in all three of their away league matches this season.
Despite this, Bournemouth has had the upper hand in recent encounters with Everton, having beaten them four times in a row in all competitions before their last meeting at Goodison Park. Everton has struggled to score more than one goal in their last five matches against Bournemouth, and the Cherries will be looking to exact revenge for their defeat in May.
Just when Everton appeared to be on the brink of a turnaround, they were abruptly brought back to reality with a resounding thud during last week's 2-1 defeat to Luton Town. This loss followed two successive away victories against Brentford and Aston Villa, the latter of which took place in the EFL Cup third round.
The gloomy result on Saturday at Goodison Park marked Everton's fourth consecutive home defeat, a concerning streak. In top-flight history, only four teams have ever suffered such a fate by losing their first five home games in a single campaign: Manchester United in 1930-31, Portsmouth in 2009-10, Bolton Wanderers in 2011-12, and Newcastle United in 2018-19 (with Burnley potentially facing a similar situation this season).
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding Everton's ownership might have somewhat alleviated the pressure on their manager, Sean Dyche. Representatives from the potential new owners, 777 Partners, were present at the Luton game. Although reports indicate that 777 Partners supports Dyche, their patience could wear thin if results do not improve. However, the question of who would make such a decision remains uncertain until 777 Partners officially takes charge.
The defeat against Luton once again highlighted Everton's vulnerability when it comes to maintaining a clean sheet. Despite their low position in the league table, they have outperformed their opponents in terms of expected goals (xG) in three of their four home matches this season. While xG is a useful measure of a team's ability to create scoring opportunities, the conversion of those chances into goals is what truly matters. In the match against Luton, Everton had an xG of 2.89 but managed only 0.65 of that in the second half, demonstrating a lack of a clear tactical plan that left the home fans frustrated.
This season, Everton has been averaging 15.4 shots per game in the Premier League, their highest since the 2012-13 campaign when they averaged 16.7 shots. Despite their 23 attempts against Luton, they failed to register a single shot on target after their 41st-minute goal.
One bright spot for Everton has been the form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored a scrappy goal. He has now scored more goals in the last three games than in his previous 21 appearances combined. Calvert-Lewin is aiming to score in four consecutive appearances for the first time since September/October 2020.
However, his striking partner, Beto, is still searching for his first Premier League goal. Jack Harrison's return from injury could potentially push Arnaut Danjuma, a former Bournemouth player, to the Everton bench, though Danjuma remains a valuable option in the final third.
Both Everton and Bournemouth are desperate for a victory. The Cherries have gone winless in their seven league games under Andoni Iraola so far, which currently ties the record for the longest winless start to a Premier League career by a Spanish manager, alongside Pepe Mel with West Brom in 2013-14.
Bournemouth's defensive struggles have been evident, having conceded 86 Premier League goals since their return to the top flight last season. This is at least eight more than any other team. Overall, they have conceded an average of 1.77 goals per game in the Premier League, which is the highest rate of any team with more than two seasons in the league.
Their only wins this season have come in the EFL Cup, most recently defeating Stoke City 2-0. However, they suffered a setback with Tyler Adams, a former Leeds United player, sustaining an injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for an extended period, as per Iraola's comments.
Dominic Solanke has been Bournemouth's leading scorer this season, with three league goals to his name. It's worth noting that these three goals have come from an expected goals (xG) value of 3.0, indicating his efficiency in front of goal. Solanke also shares the lead in key passes within the squad with Ryan Christie, with each of them having provided eight key passes.
Everton has a strong historical record against Bournemouth when playing at home in the Premier League, having emerged victorious in five out of their six encounters (with one loss). The sole defeat at Goodison Park occurred on the final day of the 2019-20 season when they suffered a 3-1 loss.
In the broader context of their Premier League clashes, the home team has emerged triumphant in nine out of the 12 matches between Everton and Bournemouth, with two draws and one away win, which was a 3-1 victory for Bournemouth in July 2020.
Bournemouth displayed dominance against Everton in their previous season's encounters at their home ground, securing victories in two matches within four days with an impressive aggregate score of 7-1 (4-1 in the EFL Cup and 3-0 in the league). However, Everton managed to clinch a crucial 1-0 win in their last meeting at Goodison Park, securing their Premier League status at the expense of Leicester City.
Throughout their history, these two teams have met on only 17 occasions in all competitions. Everton holds a slight edge with nine wins compared to Bournemouth's six. Notably, Everton's victory in May, highlighted by Abdoulaye Doucoure's stunning volley and a remarkable save by Jordan Pickford, put an end to their four-game losing streak against Bournemouth.
Sean Dyche, Everton's manager, can draw confidence from his personal record against Bournemouth. He has secured seven Premier League victories against them, making it his most successful opponent in the competition. His winning streak spans five consecutive games dating back to September 2018 when he managed Burnley.
Contrastingly, Bournemouth's recent Premier League form has been less than ideal. After winning four out of their five Premier League matches up until the end of April in the previous season (with one loss), they have now gone winless in 11 games (with three draws and eight losses). Currently, no other team in the competition is enduring a longer winless streak.
In terms of scoring at home, Everton has struggled, netting just 11 goals in their last 17 Premier League home games. They have failed to score more than once in any of these matches. Only two other teams, Sunderland (28 between December 2002-May 2006) and Huddersfield Town (24 from March 2018-May 2019), have experienced longer home goal droughts.
Both Everton and Bournemouth currently have four points in the Premier League standings. However, it's worth noting that Bournemouth's start to the season has been more challenging. Everton faced Fulham, Wolves, Arsenal, and Luton at home, losing all of those matches, while their away fixtures included Aston Villa, Sheffield United, and Brentford.
In contrast, Bournemouth encountered a tough lineup of opponents, including a 4-0 loss to Arsenal at home. Their opening seven fixtures also included matches against Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion, Tottenham, West Ham, Brentford, and Chelsea.
