• Everton can win a third successive game against Burnley for the first time since 1968-70, when they enjoyed a four-match winning streak.
• Burnley are without a league goal in four hours and 59 minutes since George Boyd’s winner in the 1-0 victory over Manchester City.
��� The Toffees are one of only three possible Premier League teams with an unbeaten home record in 2015 – along with Arsenal and Chelsea. They have won two and drawn four since a 1-0 defeat against Stoke on Boxing Day. (BBC Sport)
Burnley held ground against Arsenal last week and will have a normal, week-long turnaround away from home, facing a competitive Everton squad on Saturday.
The first competition between these two outfits in October ended in a clear Everton victory, 3-1, as Samuel Eto’o’s brace ultimately made the outcome possible.
The Toffees were once in the dead middle of the Premier League table at 10th place. However, they’ve dropped two spots, although Roberto Martinez’s side has pulled together to finish the last four games unbeaten.
The highlight in that stretch was a 3-0 win over Newcastle United, with Romelu Lukaku nailing a penalty kick and Ross Barkley burying the final goal in the last minute.
In other good news for Everton, the gifted striker Lukaku, who has been out for the past month due to a groin injury, will likely take the pitch tomorrow.
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Burnley is coming off the toughest eight-match period of the season, no doubt. Their opponents included Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Liverpool, and luckily, the Clarets managed to steal one on home turf—a 1-0 win against City.
From now until the end of the year, Sean Dyche will aim to jump the ranks in order to stave off relegation.
Currently, his team sits at 19th place with 26 points but other squads are close to that tally. Leicester City, in last place, has 25 points, while Hull City is three points ahead and one spot out of the danger zone.
Catch the Everton-Burnley live on NBC Sports Live Extra at 10 a.m. ET.
What they’re saying
Everton boss Roberto Martinez on Kevin Mirallas’ return and stay with the Toffees (Liverpool Echo): “Kevin picked up a really difficult injury when you are a sprinter like he is. He has had a soft tissue problem so we need to be careful. Now he is getting to 100% and Kevin has been a really important player for us in the last two years and his goal scoring threat is something that we really need in the team.”
Burnley manager Sean Dyche on squad/transfer flexibility (Sky Sports): ”It’s recognised we’ve tried to do something different from the norm – which is to throw money at every situation…We’re trying to build something on and off the pitch. There are challenges that come with that because it is quite hard to get players in who don’t need developing, who can just go in and do it on the money we’ve spent.”
Match injuries/absences
As mentioned earlier, Lukaku is back. Leon Osman’s groin injury will probably keep him out. Although going strong in training, Bryan Oviedo’s hamstring injury will be fully healed in May, while Aiden McGeady also shouldn’t see time on the field in this one.
The Clarets have to deal with the extended nonappearances of Dean Marney and Kevin Long. Steven Reid (calf) and Ross Wallace (knee) are doubts for Burnley as well.
Prediction
You can’t deny that Everton’s been hot as of late, but it’s still unclear when their run of form will end. Against a desperate Burnley, regardless of Lukaku’s impact, the Toffees should hit the five-game unbeaten mark. Everton 2-1 Burnley.
