So Everton are unchanged, with Williams and Sigurdsson starting against their former clubs. Swansea make three changes, with Fernandez, Fer and Narsingh coming in, and Van der Hoorn, Ki and Ayew dropping out.
The team sheets are in, and these are the people who will take centre stage this evening:
Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Williams, Martina, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Lennon, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Keane, Jagielka, Sandro, Davies, Vlasic, Lookman, Robles. Swansea: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson, Fer, Roque, Carroll, Dyer, Bony, Narsingh. Subs: Van der Hoorn, Abraham, Nordfeldt, Clucas, Ayew, Rangel, Sanches. Referee: Jonathan Moss.
Hello world!
So, the weekend ends here, with the Gylfi Sigurdsson derby, featuring the team that couldn’t afford to lose him and the team that didn’t really need him. These two sides’ Premier League history is the classic game of two halves: Everton won five of the first six (drawing the other), and none of the second six (drawing four).
Swansea are in a bit of a pickle at present, though on the plus side they actually do slightly better away (where they lose their average game 0.5 goals to 1 and have the division’s fourth-worst record) than at home (where they lose 0.56 goals to 1.56 and are bottom of the pile). In the build-up to this game Paul Clement tried to sound optimistic. “We want to get more points on the board before halfway, more than we did last season,” he said [they play this game and at home to Crystal Palace before that point]. “If we do that and get the right reinforcements in during January, we can for sure have a better second half of the season.”
You will note the existence of an if – actually two of them – before the prediction that the second half of Swansea’s season could be better than the one that has so far brought them nine goals and 12 points in 17 games. That, I would posit, is a discouraging if.
Everton, meanwhile, have won three of their last four to go roaring up the table, and a fixture that might have looked plump with potential for Swansea just a month ago is suddenly a daunting prospect. “I’m not expecting any complacency,” says Sam Allardyce. “It is my big word to the players – that this will not be an easy task, it will be a difficult task, as always, and don’t slip up against a side everybody expects you to beat. You will only get the opportunity to beat them if you play 100% to your level.”
An evening of intrigue and, hopefully, interest lies ahead. Let’s share it together, shall we?
Everton
