No sooner has the World Cup final been played than the Boxing Days are upon us in England. Everton start at home in Goodison Park against Wolverhampton, who are bottom of the table. Only 4 points separate the two clubs in this basement duel. While the Toffees remain in 17th place with 14 points, the Wolves, as European contenders, are only in last place. Since mid-November, Spaniard Julen Lopetegui has been in charge at Wolves and is now expected to put things right. The Blues, on the other hand, continue to hold on to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, even though there have been no real improvements since January. Nevertheless, the Toffees are already used to the relegation battle, so they will give Wolves a tough encounter.
FC Everton vs. Wolverhampton: The starting position
- Form Everton: 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in the last 5 games.
- Wolverhampton form: 1 draw and 4 defeats in the last 5 games
- Favourite role: According to the bookmakers, Everton are the favourites
It will be a landmark encounter for both clubs in their PL second-round openers. The Toffees want to land a big point in the relegation battle in front of their home crowd and put as much distance as possible between themselves and the relegation zone. The Wolves, on the other hand, want to break their negative streak on away turf and leave the bottom of the table with a win. For the Wolves, the encounter comes at the perfect time, as they won both encounters against the Toffees last year. Nevertheless, the bookmakers expect Wolves’ negative streak to continue.
Everton FC – landing a big point in the relegation battle
Since 31 January, Frank Lampard has been the coach of other Blues, but a real concept is not yet visible. After Everton FC finished last season in 16th place in the table with only 39 points, they wanted nothing to do with the relegation battle this year. The Toffees missed their target by a wide margin, finishing 17th, so the pressure is now on. In the event of a defeat, the Toffees could quickly find themselves in a relegation battle.
In order to do so, they must first and foremost improve their offensive performance, as 11 goals in 15 games is clearly too few. Erling Haaland alone is currently on 18 goals, which is extremely sad. Meanwhile, Domenic Calvert-Lewin has returned from injury. After Richarlison moved to league rivals Tottenham, no one could fill his shoes. In the wake of that, hopes now rest on the former England strike wonder.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – 3rd Premier League win and climb out of the bottom of the table
After Wolves finished 10th in the table last season, European places were considered a written target. However, Wolves could not be further away, as after 15 games they are only in last place in the table. 2 wins and 4 draws are considered clearly too few, which is why the Wanderers now want to start the second half of the season with a win.
The Wolves are considered the worst away team in the league so far, which doesn’t really speak for the bottom team. Nevertheless, the Wolves were able to win the last two games against the Toffees with 0:1 and 2:1. As a result, the visitors will be particularly motivated to make a strong start to the Boxing Days after the World Cup break. On New Year’s Eve, Manchester United are the next top opponents, which is why a point win there is considered unrealistic. The pressure against Everton is therefore immense. The only question is whether Julen Lopetegui was able to take advantage of the World Cup break.
Betting tip & prediction: FC Everton – Wolverhampton (26.12.2022)
Our expert tip for Everton FC vs. Wolverhampton is victory for the Wolves. Julen Lopetegui’s team will be particularly motivated to turn things around with a win after a miserable first half. As a result, we expect Wolves to win again at Goodison Park. As a result, we are betting on Wolverhampton to win the match. For this, we get odds of 11/5 at Tonybet.
Betting tip: “Wolves find their bite against Toffees”.
Both teams want to win, which is why we expect intense exchanges. In the end, we expect Wolves to show more intensity. Nevertheless, we expect both clubs to score. We bet on this with odds of 10/11. Furthermore, we assume that at least 3 goals will be scored. Consequently, we bet at Tonybet with odds of 6/5 on more than 2.5 goals.