Everton vs Hull – Match Preview

In a week where the headlines at Goodison Park have been dominated by Romelu Lukaku’s apparent refusal to sign a new contract, Everton manager Ronald Koeman will no doubt be glad that he can now focus solely on matters on the pitch for at least a couple of hours as his side play host to Hull. Both teams were in the select few that actually played a Premier League game last week and they were in the even smaller bracket that managed to win a game.

For Everton it was a very routine win at home against West Brom with The Toffees running out 3-0 winners a win that not only sees them solidify their 7th place in the league but also moves them a step closer to Manchester United who are just two points behind albeit with two games in hand. With Jose Mourinho’s men not playing until tomorrow then Everton could very well be sitting pretty in 6th by the end of the day.

That would put them in the Europa League places for certain but with 7th place also looking likely to pay out a European place for next season then it looks like being a succesful debut season for Koeman on Merseyside but that said it does not look like it’s going to be enough to keep Romelu Lukaku at the club for next season with his desire for Champions League football proving to be too strong to continue his stay here.

For Everton it’s just 1 defeat in their last 10 matches, that defeat came away at White Hart Lane just under a fortnight ago. The scoreline may have suggested a close scoreline with the game ending 3-2 but in fairness it was only a game that came alive for Everton once they got back into the game on 80 minutes when Lukaku took full advantage of an ill timed slip by his international teammate Jan Vertonghen.

And with Everton being in such good form that will mean it’s a difficult task in store for Hull this Afternoon but they will come here full of confidence after getting the better of an all important relegation six pointer with Swansea last Saturday. A first win in four for Marco Silva’s men has lifted them to 18th place and just a point from safety, a win could see them move out of the bottom three but nothing less will do due to their woeful goal difference.

It could be the hatful of goals they scored earlier in the season that could be their undoing but that said Swansea have shipped over 60 goals and find themselves out of the drop zone but the difference there is ultimately that Swansea have been winning games where perhaps Hull have played well but not get the points the performances have perhaps deserved. With Hull running out of games they need to go on a winning run of there own.

Last week was a huge step for the club but another win that could go agains them is the fact that they have played a game more than the teams around them, but at this point of the season it is always better to get points on the board and let those over teams worry about where they are going to find a result from. Can Hull add more points Today though, unfortunately I don’t think that will be the case. Everton are in form and even with contract talks in the air I don’t think it’s enough to distract Lukaku as he should fire them to victory, I think it’s going to be a home win for me.