Everton hosts Southampton in round 1 of the English Premier League. The match will be played on Saturday, August 14th at Goodison Park (Liverpool)
Everton was quite happy with Carlo Ancelotti. Under the management of the Italian, there was a segment in the last season, when they seriously talked about claims for a place in the Champions League zone. Truth be told, the Toffees finished only in 10th place, but, firstly, Tottenham was at a distance of one victory, and secondly, they probably decided to slow down and not fight for the Europa League. There was a hope that Carlo would bring his team to a new level, but then Zidane left Real, and Florentino Perez called the master to the capital of Spain. Benitez became the new manager, who wants to change a lot. Thus, he doesn’t need James Rodriguez, who was the leader in the 2020/2021 season. Bernard, Joshua King, Besic, and Bolasi also left the team. And there are only a few new transfers: the Toffees paid only two million for Demarai Gray, and Begovic and Townsend came as free agents.
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Southampton has not been claiming anything for a long time, approximately since the departure of Ronald Koeman. There are smart players, like Ward-Prowse, who regularly plays in the England national team. But a very short bench constantly lets the Saints down: there are simply no adequate replacements for the first eleven. And it results in periodic failures with nine goals conceded. On the other hand, Ralph Hasenhuttl keeps the team under his control even after such shames, and it doesn’t fall to the relegation zone. In the previous season, Southampton scored 43 points (a dozen and a half more than the best of the three outsiders). Now the struggle for survival is expected to be more serious. And such experienced players as Ings (the club received 35 million for Danny), Bertrand, Lemina, and Gunn moved to other clubs. The money was invested in promising Perraud and Livramento, and the bosses invited experienced Walcott.
In this pair, the team that hosts its opponent usually doesn’t lose. And only Everton achieves success away. The clubs exchanged home victories in the previous season. Everton is good enough to continue the tradition. Let's bet that Benitez will debut with a victory.
Prediction for the match: Everton to win
