Everton face Watford at Goodison Park on Saturday as both sides will be looking to pick up their first three points of the new season.
The Toffees played out a goalless draw with Crystal Palace in their season opener while the Hornets lost 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in their first match.
Watford enjoyed an impressive run of pre-season results by beating Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad, as well as QPR but the team clearly struggled against Brighton.
Despite registering 11 shots to Brighton’s 5 on the opening day, they failed to find the back of the net. Javi Gracia will need his team to be far more clinical against Everton.
Everton also had the majority of the shots and saw more of the ball against Crystal Palace but failed to make their superiority count.
Marco Silva gave debuts to Jean-Phillipe Gbamin and Moise Kean as both players came off the bench in the second-half however they were unable to help find a way through the stubborn Palace defense.
🎥 | "I am honoured to wear this shirt. #EFC is a club looking to the future, so am I."First interview with the new boy, Moise Kean! @eToro 🔵➡️ https://t.co/aLGbbgxIjA pic.twitter.com/rDp93toplc— Everton (@Everton) August 4, 2019
🎥 | "I am honoured to wear this shirt. #EFC is a club looking to the future, so am I."First interview with the new boy, Moise Kean! @eToro 🔵➡️ https://t.co/aLGbbgxIjA pic.twitter.com/rDp93toplc
Gbamin could come into the starting line-up against Watford to replace Morgan Schneiderlin who will be unavailable for selection after picking up a red card on the opening day.
New signing Kean is also likely to be pushing Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the lone striker role in the side.
As for Watford, Javi Gracia handed a debut to Craig Dawson on the opening day and the center-back would love to bounce back with a clean sheet against Everton.
Everton’s home form was excellent last season as the team lost just 5 of their 19 matches at Goodison Park (W10, D4, L5).
On the other hand, Watford conceded 31 goals on the road last season. With the team set to face the likes of Richarlison, Bernard and Sigurdsson, this could spell danger for the Hornets.
The overall head-to-head record between the two sides stands at W19, D5, L4 in favor of Everton.
However, Watford are unbeaten in their last three meetings with the Toffees.
Last season, the Hornets picked up a 1-0 home win against Everton while also snatching a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
With that being said, Everton are likely to get back to winning ways in this fixture this time around.
Forbet predicts an Everton win, both teams to score and +3.5 goals.