A depleted Everton squad will host league leaders Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday night.
The Toffees will look to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. However, they’ll face an uphill battle against the Gunners following the departure of key players Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye, while also dealing with multiple injuries.
Ndiaye and Gana have left to join the Senegal national team camp, one of the favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, and could potentially miss the next eight games if they make it to the final.
Meanwhile, injuries to Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Seamus Coleman and Merlin Röhl are bound to make things difficult for David Moyes. Before their loss to Chelsea on the road, the Toffees had won four of their last five games, beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in their last clash on home turf.
They’re currently ninth in the table and only have two-point deficits to make up to Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Sunderland, occupying positions between 5 and 8, respectively.
Everton held Arsenal to two draws last season and they have only lost one of their last seven Premier League home matches against the Gunners, although they find themselves occupying a new home this season, having bid goodbye to Goodison Park.
While Arsenal are arriving into this game on the back of a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, it was actually one of their worst performances of the season. Wolves deserved to come back from Emirates Stadium with at least a point after Tolu Arokodare equalised at the 90th-minute mark; however, in a cruel twist of fate, Yerson Mosquera emulated teammate Sam Johnstone and ended up putting the ball into his own net four minutes later.
The win at home helped Mikel Arteta’s side maintain their two-point lead at the top over Manchester City but Arsenal are starting to show signs of slowing down after keeping just one clean sheet in their last six Premier League games and conceding the first goal in each of their last three top-flight away matches.
Everton vs Arsenal - Team News and Predicted Starting XI
Iliman Ndiaye, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be the major names absent from David Moyes’ usual squad list this season, with the former two having left for AFCON and Dewsbury-Hall picking up a hamstring issue at Stamford Bridge.
Jack Grealish also felt something in his hamstring and was taken off five minutes before the end as a precaution, along with James Garner, who is one yellow card away from suspension.
Branthwaite, Rohl and Coleman are expected to miss out once again, having barely featured this season.
Ndiaye’s absence should pave the way for Tyler Dibling, the Toffees’ most expensive summer signing, to get a good stretch of games for the first time in a royal blue shirt after arriving from the south coast.
Meanwhile, Charly Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam are expected to fill in for Dewsbury-Hall and Gana, respectively.
Everton’s predicted starting XI: Jordan Pickford; Jake O'Brien, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, Vitalii Mykolenko; James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam; Tyler Dibling, Charly Alcaraz, Jack Grealish; Thierno Barry
Everton vs Arsenal - Head-to-Head Record
Matches played: 225
Everton wins: 65
Arsenal wins: 112
Draws: 48
Everton vs Arsenal - Form Guide
Everton: W-L-W-W-L
Arsenal: W-D-W-L-W
When is Everton vs Arsenal?
Everton will host Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, December 20. Kickoff is scheduled at 8:00 pm UK time.
Where to Watch Everton vs Arsenal?
The Premier League contest between Everton and Arsenal will be available on Sky Sports+ for viewers in the UK.
Fans can also watch Everton face Arsenal on Sky Go and on the Sky Sports app, while it is also available via Now TV's Sports membership.
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