Two sides in need of a win meet in the Premier League this weekend as Everton face Bournemouth at Goodison Park.
Everton currently sit 16th in the Premier League with one win, one draw and five losses from their first seven games of the season.
The Toffees have had a tough time of things so far this season having underwhelmed relative to preseason expectations with many expecting them to kick on and push for a mid-table finish under Sean Dyche.
They enter this one amidst a poor run of form in the league having won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five games, the most recent of which was a 1-2 loss at home to Luton Town.
The defeat at home to the consensus worst side in the league was an egregious one for Dyche's men and it undid a lot of the excellent work they did the week prior in beating Brentford 3-1 away from home.
Everton will have felt aggrieved at points this season having delivered some solid performances that have not necessarily aligned with the number of points they've accumulated but the defeat to Luton was one that could be indicative of further trouble down the line for this side.
Their form at Goodison Park has been awful for the entirety of 2023 as they come into this game having lost seven of their last eight, including their last four on the bounce, Premier League games on their own patch.
The Toffees have a good squad of players but things clearly aren't clicking, at least not consistently, so they're going to have to work hard to turn this around. A defeat here would really pile the pressure on Sean Dyche and his staff.
Bournemouth currently sit 19th in the Premier League with three draws and four losses from their first seven games of the season.
There was a lot of optimism surrounding The Cherries coming into this season with the South Coast side having appointed Spaniard Andoni Iraola, hot property around Europe following his time with Rayo Vallecano, on top of investing heavily in their squad.
Things, however, have not gone to plan thus far as they come into this game winless having lost their last two league games by a combined scoreline of 7-1.
Their most recent outing saw them put to the sword in a 0-4 thrashing by Arsenal in a game that did not see them put up much of a fight.
The writing is by no means on the wall for Iraola and Bournemouth and they've had a very tough start to the season in terms of fixture difficulty but they're going to have to start picking up wins soon before confidence becomes irredeemable.
Even in October many would call this one a six pointer as neither side can afford to lose given their current struggles.
For our Everton vs. Bournemouth prediction, we're going for a 1-1 draw.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.
