Match: Premier League
Fixture: Sunderland vs Everton
Local Kick-off Time: 20:00 on November 3
Handicap Prediction:
Asian Handicap: Sunderland +0
European Odds: Home Win + Draw
Expected Scores: 0-0, 1-0, 1-1
Expected Total Goals: 0, 1, 2
Comprehensive Prediction Analysis:
Sunderland pulled off a surprise 2-1 win over Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend. This promoted side has won 3 out of their past 4 league games, defeating Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea—with the points gained being of high quality. At home in the Premier League this season, Sunderland has remained unbeaten with 3 wins and 1 draw. Especially their victory over Brentford and the draw against Aston Villa with 10 men are highly convincing results. In addition, after 9 rounds of the league, they have only conceded 7 goals, showing quite solid defensive performance. This is partly related to the coaching of French manager Fabrice Le Ny, and also directly related to the team’s excellent squad construction. This season, Sunderland signed former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen, and also signed 20-year-old midfielder Abdoullah Sadiki from Sint-Truiden. This combination of an experienced veteran and a young talent has become the key factor for Sunderland to climb to the upper half of the Premier League standings.
Under David Moyes’ leadership, Everton has always been a tough nut to crack, but their offensive performance is unstable. After 9 league rounds, Everton has scored 9 goals—with a goal efficiency even lower than Sunderland’s 11 goals. In their last game, Everton was defeated 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur. A very important reason was the team’s problems in set-piece defense, as they were scored twice by opposing center-back Micky van de Ven from corner kick opportunities. Sunderland, Everton’s opponent tonight, has very threatening players in set-piece tactics, such as center-backs Dan Ballard and Luke O’Nien. In tonight’s game, Everton’s forward line is fully staffed, but the backline will continue to be without center-back Jarrad Branthwaite and right-back Nathan Patterson—this is a considerable hidden danger.
Summary:
As a strong dark horse this season, Sunderland’s performance in the upper reaches of the standings is by no means accidental. Their home combat effectiveness is particularly prominent, and their overall tactical execution is efficient and full of vitality. On the other hand, Everton has always lacked stability in away performances, and it is difficult for them to exert sustained pressure on both offense and defense. Although Everton may have a psychological advantage in historical head-to-head matches, the balance of power between the two sides has changed significantly this season. Sunderland’s aggressive style of play poses a severe test to Everton’s relatively aging backline. The current Asian Handicap initially opened with a level handicap for both teams. In fact, this operation takes advantage of the market perception gap between Everton’s traditional Premier League image and Sunderland as a "promoted side", deliberately creating market expectations of the away team remaining unbeaten to disperse the betting heat on the home team. However, Sunderland’s aggressiveness and tactical discipline in home games can just counter Everton’s weakness of insufficient away offensive efficiency. With the impact of Sunderland’s young squad and home advantage, they are fully capable of dominating the rhythm of the game. It is recommended to be optimistic about Sunderland continuing their hot form at home.
