Everton vs Burnley – Match Preview

Everton come into this game knowing that a win today will take them as high as fifth in the table, although that may well put them in somewhat of a false position due to the fact that they would have played three games more than both Manchester United and Arsenal who they would both leapfrog.

If they are to move to fifth then they are going to have to get the better of Sean Dyche’s Burnley who make the relatively short trip to Goodison Park this afternoon, with the Clarets still looking for the first away win of the 2016/17 season.

Last Sunday saw Everton run out 4-2 winners over defending champions Leicester in what was a very entertaining game for the neutral, with Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare going on to say it reminded him of a basketball game due to the constant attacking threat from both sides.

Romelu Lukaku was once again the man of the hour with his brace of goals setting Everton well on their way to another three points and a win that moves them a step closer to securing a Europa League place at the end of Ronald Koeman’s first season in charge.

If you want a club in the Europa League then Koeman is your man as he looks likely to secure a third successive qualification across both Southampton to Everton. The clubs turn around from last season to this is testament to the job that the former Barcelona defender has done on Merseyside.

That’s not taking anything away from the players, atlhough Lukaku will get the limelight due to the amount of goals he has been scoring that is not to take away anything from an impressive supporting cast which has created a buzz in the blue half of the Mersey.

Lukaku has been well nominated for this seasons PFA Player of the Year award. It is likely that he will go up against Harry Kane in a bid to win the award and it is Kane in which he will be going head to head with in the race for this seasons golden boot.

Lukaku has taken full advantage of Kane’s spell of absence as the Belgian international tops the scoring charts with 23 league goals while Kane has been stuck on 19 for the past few weeks, Lukaku is certainly in the driving seat but it is a race which is not yet won.

But their is certainly an opportunity for him to get goals this afternoon with the visit of Burnley. Burnley on the road are a different beast to the one that has made Turf Moor a fortress this season thanks to their incredibly impressive home form.

They spurned the perfect opportunity in which to finally break the away jinx last Saturday as they were held to a stalemate draw at Middlesbrough. It was the kind of game that only sado-masochists would enjoy and it came as no surprise that it was shunted to the final billing on Match Of The Day.

Burnley currently find themselves 12th in the table and are just four points from the hallowed 40 point marker which in the majority of seasons is enough to keep a club in the Premier League. It’s job very nearly done but not quite and that means that Sean Dyche will not allow his team to rest on their laurels.

They will look at last Saturday’s game and know they will need to raise their game this afternoon but they will also look at the draw with Middlesbrough as two important points dropped. There are obviously teams in worse situations but the quicker they can get survival wrapped up the better.

Will they be able to make a massive step to survival today? With their form away from Turf Moor I cannot see them getting any joy and will fail to repeat the win over Everton earlier in the season. I can only see this one going in one direction and that is an Everton victory as the Toffees move up to 5th for a least a day.