Free betting tips and match preview: Premier League - Everton v Burnley
Friday night football sees Everton hoping they can close in on a place in Europe as they welcome Burnley to Goodison Park.
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2pts Gylfi Sigurdsson 2+ Shots On Target at 13/8
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Everton v Burnley
- Goodison Park, 2000 BST, Sky Sports Main Event
Burnley's great form in the second-half of the season has ensured that they will be a Premier League side for another season, while Everton have a slim chance of making the Europa League.
Despite the money at their disposal, the Toffees have a feel of a club who may always be battling to be the best of the rest. They have struggled to challenge, let alone break in to the top-six in recent campaigns.
Everton boss Marco Silva used his press conference on Thursday to express his desire for the Blues to finish in the European places every season.
Burnley struggled to juggle the demands of the top flight and Europe, following up last season's seventh-place finish with a fight for survival this term.
Silva, while keeping his focus firmly on his side's two remaining fixtures, believes a club of Everton's stature should be competing abroad on an annual basis.
When asked about Burnley's situation and whether he fears the same could happen to Everton, Silva replied: "I have a different opinion about this.
"Of course it's not a moment for us to talk about if Everton qualify or not, we have to keep doing our job, fighting to achieve the points and after we will see the position in the table.
"It's not something just in our hands, the competition is tight, we have to do our jobs and let's see.
"We have to play every single season in European competitions for us to keep growing as a club. It has to be always a pleasure, it has to be always a fantastic challenge for us and not a problem.
"When this happens we have to prepare ourselves and the squad, and a deep squad, to prepare to play in both competitions. It will always be a big challenge, never a problem for us."
It's not out of the question for them to qualify for Europe's second competition. They need slip-ups from Watford and Wolves and secure victory themselves in this contest. Alongside that, Manchester City would have to beat Watford in the FA Cup final.
One player who can shine in this contest is Gylfi Sigurdsson, with the attacking midfielder establishing himself as a star in this Everton side.
The Icelandic international has 13 goals and five assists in the league this season, that includes one of each in their recent thrashing of Manchester United.
He's a threat from open play and on set-pieces and the Blues often look to him to be the man who can provide that moment of magic. He leads the way for shots taken in this Everton side with slightly more coming from inside the penalty area as opposed to out of it.
Their recent victory over Arsenal at Goodison Park saw Sigurdsson post a total of seven shots, while there were two in each of the three games prior to that.
Sky Bet have the Everton man at 13/8 to have two or more shots on target, which looks good value based on the factors surrounding the game. At that price, the stats provide our best bet for this one.
It's little surprise to see Everton as the 8/13 favourites to win this one so it may be worth exploring the handicap markets in order to find the value.
Spread Ex have the home side at 7/4 on the -1 handicap which looks more appealing. Recent trips to Liverpool and Newcastle saw defeats by a two-goal margin for Burnley, and another journey to Merseyside could end in the same fate.
Score prediction: Everton 2-0 Burnley (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Opta facts
- Everton have lost three of their last five Premier League meetings with Burnley (W2), as many as they had in their previous 16 top-flight games against them (W8 D5 L3).
- Burnley won this exact fixture 1-0 last season. They’ve not won back-to-back league games at Everton since a run of three between 1958 and 1960.
- None of the nine Premier League meetings between Everton and Burnley have been drawn, with the Toffees winning five to Burnley’s four.
- Everton have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last nine Premier League games, and each of their last four at Goodison Park. They last kept five consecutive home league clean sheets between March-September 2013 (7).
- Everton have lost their last eight Premier League matches when they’ve conceded at least once, with their last victory when conceding coming at Burnley in December (5-1).
- Burnley have lost their last four Premier League games in the month of May, conceding 11 goals in the process. Their last win in the month came in 2015 against Aston Villa (1-0).
- Burnley have kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 Premier League away games – a 0-0 draw at Watford in January.
- Only against Bournemouth (4) has Burnley’s Sean Dyche won more Premier League games than he has against Everton (3).
- Everton’s Richarlison has scored 13 Premier League goals this season. Only two Brazilian players have ever scored more in a single campaign; Roberto Firmino in 2017-18 (15) and Robinho in 2008-09 (14).
- Burnley’s Ashley Barnes has scored six goals in his last nine Premier League away games, having failed to find the net in his first eight on the road this season.
Odds correct as of 1505 BST on 02/05/19