Everton will travel to the Riverside Stadium as they look to build on their astounding 6-3 win over Bournemouth. The Toffees have slowly settled down under Ronald Koeman and with the new signings and the existing players gelling well, there is a sense of excitement around Goodison Park. They will be up against a Middlesbrough team who have failed to properly get going, having a stop-start season till now. They will look to use utilise the home advantage but the Toffees will be looking to get all 3 points, which will set up a good contest between the two.
TRIVIA
- Middlesbrough have managed just one win in their last 12 Premier League games against Everton (D4 L7), with goals from Yakubu and Mark Viduka securing a 2-1 victory in October 2006.
- The Toffees have kept clean sheets in three of their last four Premier League visits to the Riverside Stadium (L1), winning all three of those games.
- In all competitions, Everton are on their best winning run against Boro since December 1931 (four wins in a row) – they have never won five consecutively against them.
- Romelu Lukaku has scored in both of his previous appearances against Boro for Everton, scoring once in both a 2-0 win in the League Cup last season and a 3-1 Premier League victory earlier this campaign.
- Lukaku is now the Premier League’s top scorer this season with 16 goals, with 25% of those goals coming in the last match against Bournemouth where he scored four.
- The Belgian forward has scored 59 Premier League goals for Everton – just one shy of the club’s record goalscorer in the competition (Duncan Ferguson, 60).
- Everton have used the most teenagers in the Premier League this season (4), with Tom Davies, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Ademola Lookman all playing for the Toffees.
- Boro have scored the fewest home Premier League goals this season (11).
- Alvaro Negredo has been involved in six of Middlesbrough’s last nine league goals (five goals, one assist).
- Middlesbrough have attempted the fewest shots on target in the Premier League this season (56) and are the only side to have failed to post a shot on target in more than one PL game in 2016-17 (2).
TEAM NEWS AND PREDICTED LINE-UP
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-3-3)
Gaston Ramirez (knee) remains a doubt ahead of the clash, while George Friend (calf) is also a doubt.
Valdes; Chambers, Gibson, Bernardo, Fabio; Clayton, Forshaw, De Roon; Traore, Negredo, Stuani
EVERTON (4-3-2-1)
Everton boss Koeman has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the tricky clash at Riverside. Yannick Bolasie, Muhamed Besic and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will miss the game.
Robles; Coleman, Williams, Funes Mori, Baines; McCarthy, Barry, Schneiderlin; Barkley, Lookman; Lukaku
BETTING ODDS
MIDDLESBROUGH- 14/5
DRAW- 23/10
EVERTON- 6/5
TRIVIA COURTESY- OPTA
