Everton V Fulham Preview

A buoyant Everton side will host Fulham at Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton are coming off an impressive 4-4 draw at Old Trafford against Man United, a game in which they trailed 3-1 and 4-2. The visitors on the other hand sealed a 2-1 win over a resurgent Wigan side, thanks to a late strike from Senderos. Both teams are coming into the match on the back of decent runs in the league with Everton unbeaten in 5 and Fulham unbeaten in 4, runs which have seen them settle in the top half of the table with Everton 7th and Fulham 2pts behind in 9th. Everton have found their form in front of goals scoring 12 goals in the last 4 games, including two bags of four goals in the last two games. Fulham will be looking for revenge against Everton, after Everton have already beat Fulham twice this season, once in the league and in the FA Cup.

Influential Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini had this to say after the draw against Man United

'At the moment the team is scoring lots of goals and we have now four games which we will try to win and the first is against Fulham. We will try to win every game. The team wants to finish above Liverpool.'

Fulham defender Aaron Hughes had this to say about Everton

'It`s never easy going to Everton and they got a great result against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend. That result typifies Everton and the players they have. Not only do they have quality from a football point of view but they have a great mentality and attitude too."

Everton have no new injury concerns after the 4-4 draw last weekend. Sylvain Distin is expected to continue his role at left back, after Leighton Baines is still sidelined with a hamstring injury, an injury that rules him out for the rest of the season. The only other injury concern for Everton is youngster Jack Rodwell, who will miss yet another game due to his ongoing hamstring problems. I would expect that Moyes would field the same line up that took the field against United last weekend

Possible Starting XI: Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Distin, Neville, Gibson, Osman, Fellaini, Pienaar, Jelavic

Many would expect to see Nikica Jelavic, and you are probably right as he has scored 7 goals in his last 6. However, if you take a look at the last 3 games, you will notice just how vital the diminutive South African is to this team. Pienaar has played in the last 2 league games, which has yielded 8 goals, 2 of which he has scored, and was involved in the majority of the others, in the game he missed, the FA Cup Semi, Everton failed to generate a decent chance on goal, instead had to rely on Liverpool's defence for our goal. Steven Pienaar is a must signing in the summer, he is the important cog in this team, he keeps everything moving, his vision, intelligence on the ball, passing ability is pivotal to this team. He is in sparkling form at the moment, would even say career best form at the moment. If he has a field day like he had against Sunderland and United, then at home, wouldn't surprise me if we notched up another 4 goals.

Fulham will hope that Stephen Kelly will be fit for the match, after he missed the win against Wigan with a wrist injury. Star striker Pavel Pogrebnyak returned from injury against Wigan scoring the opener for Fulham. The other notable absentees for the Cottagers are Ruiz (foot), Grygera (knee) and Sidwell (hernia)

Possible Starting XI: Schwarzer, Riise, Hangeland, Hughes, Kelly, Murphy, Diarra, Duff, Dempsey, Dembele, Pogrebnyak

Massive fan of this lad. The fact he has scored 22 goals this season, despite not being an outright striker is an amazing feat, especially considering he isn't playing for a team such as United or Chelsea. The American is the definition of clinical, he can score goals in a variety of ways, and is a major threat on goals, despite playing the majority of the season on the wing. Fulham fans will be praying that he stays at the Cottage past next season and if Everton do not keep tabs on the American he could be adding to his already impressive goal tally.

1. Everton and Goodison Park is the definition of a nightmare for Fulham. Everton have won 18 consecutive matches against Fulham at Goodison. Additionally, the teams have played at Goodison Park 23 times, and Fulham have not won once (Everton 18 wins and 5 draws)

2. Should Leon Osman feature, it would be his 300th appearance for the Everton academy product.

3. Everton have scored 4 goals in 2 consecutive games, this has only happened one other time in the history of the club, in 1999

4. Nikica Jelavic has scored in 5 consecutive away matches for Everton, and 7 goals in 6 games in total

5. Everton has defeated Fulham twice already in the season. A 3-1 win at Craven Cottage in the league, and a 2-1 win in the FA Cup.

After seeing Fulham's record at Goodison Park, it is hard to go past an Everton win, especially the fine form Everton are in. With Steven Pienaar running the show and Jelavic scoring for fun, it is going to be difficult for Fulham to contain, especially at Goodison Park. I am going for a 2-1 Everton win, with a Jelavic brace sealing the 3pts for the home side and a Dempsey strike as consolation. COYB!!!! ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!!

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