Statistical Betting Preview: Everton vs Southampton

Everton will need to bounce back from defeat against Sunderland after suffering a 1-0 defeat and losing Tim Howard to a red card. That means Joel Robles will stand in in goal against Southampton.

Seamus Coleman has been one of Everton’s top performers this season. The right back has scored four goals this term, the only defender in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index to have done so.

Meanwhile Romelu Lukaku has taken the headlines up front with his lethal finishing. Lukaku has hit 71% of 31 shots at goal on target. Only Aaron Ramsey has a more accurate shooting rate of those in the Premier League to have taken more than 20 shots at goal. Lukaku is 33/10 to score first against Southampton with 888sport.com.

In the centre of defence, Phil Jagielka is doing his best to put his name on a seat to the plane to Rio this season, making 167 clearances so far this season, the second highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Another Everton player being talked of in the same sentence as the World Cup is young midfielder Ross Barkley who has completed 44 dribbles this season, the third highest in the league. He was also one of only two players in the Premier League to have had six shots at goal in the Boxing Day games, despite coming on as a substitute.

Southampton turned around a run of five games without a win by beating troubled Cardiff City 3-0 on Boxing Day. Jay Rodriguez hit two and Rickie Lambert added a third as both reinforced their England credentials. 

Rodriguez now has eight goals in the Premier League this season, converting one in four of his shots into goals and getting 53% on target. Lambert has taken a little longer for each of his goals, converting one of every 5.83 shots. He’s 28/11 with 888sport.com to score any time against Everton.

Another exciting young English talent coming through at St Mary’s this season is James Ward Prowse. The winger has delivered 21 crosses this season, the joint highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Southampton’s impressive football this season is typified in the fact that have two players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s top 25 for passes completed in the opposition half. Adam Lallana is 20^th with 415 and Morgan Schneiderlin is ranked 25^th with  395.