Everton have the opportunity to climb into the top half of the table when they welcome Ralph Hassenhuttl’s Southampton to Goodison Park.
Everton, who are unbeaten at home since November, go into this game off the back of a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur – Michael Keane’s own goal the difference on Monday night.
The away side, on the other hand, will be brimming with confidence after their 1-0 home win against Manchester City, courtesy of Che Adams’ incredible 40-yard lob.
A win for the Saints would see them jump above the hosts, and could catapult them up into the top half of the table.
When is Kick Off? Thursday 9th July
What Time is Kick Off? 18:00 (BST)
Where is it Played? Goodison Park
TV Channel/Live Stream? Amazon Prime (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? Lee Mason
English defender Mason Holgate will miss out after sustaining a knock in the defeat against Tottenham, which saw him replaced by Yerry Mina in the first half. Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Cenk Tosun remain long-term absentees.
Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuttl has confirmed that Malian winger Moussa Djenepo will miss out through injury.
Hassenhuttl also stated that defenders Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Valery, as well as winger Sofiane Boufal, are all unavailable for the trip to Goodison Park. However, he suggested that former Bayern Munich man Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ‘could possibly make the bench’.
Everton: Pickford; Sidibe, Mina, Keane, Digne; Iwobi, Gomes, Bernard, Gordon; Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Southampton: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand; Smallbone, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond; Ings, Adams.
The home side have made a solid return to football since the restart, picking up seven points from four games.
The Toffees’ defence has been especially impressive, conceding only twice in that quartet of matches.
However, they’re running into a Southampton side who have won three of four since the restart, including last time out against recently-deposed Premier League champions Man City.
Danny Ings has burst out of the break in fine form, hitting three goals in those four games as he continues to stake his claim for the Golden Boot.
Here is how both sides have done in their last five fixtures.
Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Everton (06/07)
Everton 2-1 Leicester City (01/07)
Norwich City 0-1 Everton (24/06)
Everton 0-0 Liverpool (21/06)
Chelsea 4-0 Everton (08/03)
Southampton
Southampton 1-0 Manchester City (05/07)
Watford 1-3 Southampton (28/06)
Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (25/06)
Norwich City 0-3 Southampton (19/06)
Southampton 0-1 Newcastle United (07/03)
The reverse fixture saw the Toffees pick up a 2-1 victory at St. Mary’s back in November, which turned out to be Marco Silva’s last win in charge of Everton.
With the sides only two points away from each other in the table, and in similar form, it would perhaps be unsurprising to see a close game on Thursday.
Prediction: Everton 1-1 Southampton
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