English Premier League Preview: Arsenal vs Everton

Arsenal v Everton

The league leaders Arsenal host 5th placed Everton on Sunday evening as it starts the series of crucial matches for the Gunners. Arsenal have not lost in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium apart from the first day defeat against Aston Villa. Everton travel to north London after a hard fought victory over Manchester United in the midweek. The Toffees will be high on confidence And would be looking to tame the Gunners who have won eight and lost none of their last 12 Premier League games against Everton.

After the slump against Manchester United at the old Trafford a couple of weeks ago, the Gunners are back on track with winning 3 games in all competitions with scoring 2 goals or more. They have also kept clean sheets in those games And the defence looks more than mature compared to the last few of seasons. The addition of one world class player can change the fortunes & Mesut Ozil has done just that. He has three goals and six assists in 11 Premier League appearances. Aaron Ramsey has scored 8 and assisted 5 times and with the return of Theo Walcott to the team, we could see Goals Galore come Sunday.

For Everton, Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku is in red hot form. The Belgian has scored 8 goals so far this season & has been important part of the Roberto Martinez’s team. Kevin Mirallas is second on the list of assists behind Ozil with 5. Everton have lost only one Premier League game this season, fewer than any other side. They have drawn with the likes of Spurs, Liverpool & won against Manchester United, Chelsea. The only loss in the league came at the Etihad Stadium when Manchester City beat them 3-1. Everton are looking to challenge the traditional top 4 teams for the UEFA Champions League spot & will be looking to hunt down one more giant when these sides meet tomorrow night.

Last Corresponding Fixture:

• Arsenal 0 – 0 Everton
• Tuesday, 16 April 2013
• Emirates Stadium

TEAM News:

• Arsenal: No new injury concerns for Arsene Wenger apart from Bacary Sagna who is expected to be fit for game against Manchester City next weekend. Lukas Podolski is back in routine training but not yet match fit. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Yaya Sanogo & Abou Diaby are the long term absentees.
• Everton: Roberto Martinez will travel with the same squad that faced Manchester United at the Old Trafford. Antolin Alcaraz is fully fit following hamstring problem, but Leighton Baines, Arouna Kone and Darron Gibson are still sidelined.

TEAM Performance:

	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	GF	GA
Arsenal at Home	7	6	1	0	15	5
Everton away from Home	7	3	1	3	9	7

OPTA Stats:

• Everton have only managed more than one goal in a league game against Arsenal on one occasion in the last 21 meetings.
• The Gunners have won 14 and lost none of the last 17 Premier League home games against the Toffees (D3).
• There have been just four goals scored in the last four Premier League meetings between Everton and Arsenal.
• Howard Webb will officiate Arsenal v Everton on Sunday. The Gunners have won their last eight Premier League games with him as the man in the middle.
• Arsenal are unbeaten at home in the Premier League with Howard Webb as referee (W10 D4 L0).
• Arsenal have scored in 13 of their 14 games and have led in 12 of their 14 games this season, both Premier League highs.
• The Gunners have kept six clean sheets in their last seven games in all competitions, conceding just one goal in the other match (0-1 at Man Utd).
• The Toffees have kept three away clean sheets in a row for the first time since May 2009; they have not recorded four or more in a row since August 1995 (had a run of five).

Match Officials

• Referee: Howard Webb.
• Assistants: M Mullarkey, D Cann.
• Fourth Official: A Taylor.