Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The final game of this midweek round of fixtures takes us to the Bet365 Stadium as Stoke play host to a resurgent Everton. With both sides being dumped out of the F.A. Cup in the third round they would have had an extended break and will no doubt be ready to return to action this Evening.
Before the cup hiatus, Stoke were just seconds away from beating Manchester United in front of their own fans but were foiled by Wayne Rooney’s fantastic free kick which subsequently meant that Rooney finally surpassed the goal scoring record of Sir Bobby Charlton.
For United it was arguably what they deserved after going behind thanks to Juan Mata’s own goal. Once ahead Stoke did well to withstand the onslaught of pressure that Jose Mourinho’s side offered but will regret not killing the game off via the few chances they had at David De Gea’s goal.
With results last night, Stoke have dropped to 10th but a win over Ronald Koeman’s men Tonight will see them once again move above Burnley and back into 9th, while for Everton regardless of the result will stay in 7th. Although that said the obvious wish will be not to lose further ground on the top 6.
Everton’s last run out was a happy one as they ended up snatching victory at Selhurst Park thanks to a late Seamus Coleman winner. The victory may have been slightly contentious due to Jeffrey Schlupp going down with cramp and Everton rightly or wrongly not stopping the game.
Ronald Koeman will obviously be grateful for that lack of stoppage as The Toffees solidified 7th in the table, a position that is arguably the best they can hope for this season but that won’t stop them from trying to bridge the gap to both Manchester clubs.
Everton will no doubt be hoping that Manchester United go on to win the EFL Cup which would subsequently open up a European place through the Premier League and with that in mind Everton may still have a lot to play for come the end of the season.
European Football would be the dream but it is a dream that can only come to reality if Everton continue their current rich vein of form and that ultimately means a win Tonight. A win that they are more than capable of achieving and in my opinion I think it’s going to be a good night for the blue half of Merseyside as they earn all three points. An away win for me.
