Tight affair at Goodison Park
Everton entertain Aston Villa at Goodison Park on Thursday during one of the two earlier kickoffs. Everton have nothing left to play for whilst Aston Villa are fighting for top-flight survival making this an interesting clash.
Everton
The Toffees can be found at a comfortable but boring 11th place which is definitely not where Evertonians hoped and thought they would be prior to the start of the season but is nonetheless a vast improvement compared to where they were before Ancelotti took over.
Mixed results
Since the return from lockdown Everton have registered 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats which is not ideal at first glance but given the fact that the defeats came against Tottenham and Wolverhampton and the draws against Liverpool and Southampton things look all of a sudden a little better.
Defence specialist
An incredibly impressive statistic since Ancelotti's appointment is that Everton are yet to suffer defeat at home registering 4 wins and 4 draws which speaks volumes regarding how the Italian has improved the teams defensive displays. What's more is that the men in blue have only conceded 5(!) times during those 8 games which is a feat in itself.
With Ancelotti at the helm and a strong squad Everton have a great foundation to build upon for next season but first, 3 quite uninteresting games and vacation.
Aston Villa
Things are heating up with 4 points being all that separate the Villains from their current relegation status to the coveted safety that Watford currently occupy with only 12 points left to play for. Things get even more interesting when you factor in Watford's last 3 games consisting of trips to fellow relegation candidates West Ham and a very tough game against a reinvigorated Arsenal side as well as a home contest against a fired up Manchester City.
Still in the race
Dean Smith's men are coming off the back of an absolutely crucial 3 points against Crystal Palace that kept them in the race for survival and now have a slightly better outlook than Watford despite the 4 point deficit with trips to Everton and West Ham as well as hosting Arsenal left on their schedule.
It is beyond crucial that Villa grab at least 1 point on Thursday if they want any chance at survival and they know it, 3 points against a team that has not lost in their 8 last home games is a stretch but a draw is definitely not out of the equation.
Everton have had some issues regarding their goalscoring so if Villa put in a solid defensive display i do not see any reason as to why they would not travel home to Birmingham with at least a point.
Betting tip
Everton are as mentioned defensively sound but have had issues with their goalscoring whilst Aston Villa know they need to put in a strong defensive display for a continued chance at survival. Due to these reasons i will be backing Under 2.5 goals at 1.90 with Betway.
