Sunderland enter the lions den after an awful December looks good compared to a even worse January in all competitions. Steve Bruce has called on his players to add stability to their performances and will look to hopefully avoid another defeat on the road on Wednesday evening.
David Moyes has turned Everton around since their poor opening to the campaign and with returns to the squad for Arteta, and signings like Senderos, they can only get stronger this season.
Sunderland will face another tricky tie and may have to concentrate fully on Monday in the must win clash against Stoke at home. It is important that Cattermole gets back to fitness as soon as possible and then we can build for a better February.
Darren Bent is in red hot form, unlike his team mates, and he will be looking to add to his 15 goals this season but he needs support from midfield and Kenwyne Jones also.
Vital Quotes:
On Matthew Kilgallon being introduced for the first time: ‘It looks like we will throw him at the deep end.
‘We only got him yesterday and he trained with us for the first time.
‘This is his chance to play in Premier League. We think he is good enough, I have been watching him for a while and he is everything I knew, tall, thin, athletic, left footed and he will give us nice balance when we need it.’
On missing certain players he added: ‘We have missed certain individuals.
‘I am not making excuses but we need stability and hopefully we can get a platform to build on.
‘The one thing we have to try and do is turn it round. We had a wonderful start to the season but an awful January and December. You can only dust yourself down and we are getting a few back but we have been missing far too many.
‘When that improves, we will improve but we have to do it quickly.’
Everton Team News:
Philippe Senderos could start for the first time for the Blues and Arteta could be involved at some stage in the game also.
Player to watch: Fellaini
The ‘Afro Man’ was immense in the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light and he has been improving ever since his equaliser in the dying moments. He is proving his worth for David Moyes and the reason Everton have hit a rich vein of form as of late in the league.
Sunderland Team News:
Sunderland bring in debutant Matthew Kilgallon in place of the injured Michael Turner. Phil Bardsley also misses this game through a similar knee injury.
Cattermole will line up along side captain Cana after he came through training unscathed.
Player to watch: Cattermole
Finally I may write his name in this part of the article and he may play! He is vital in the middle of the park to play against Fellaini and also stop attacks from going forward.
Match Facts & Stats
The last time Sunderland won at Goodison Park was in 1996 when under Peter Reid they beat Joe Royle’s Everton 3-1
Ref Watch:
Referee: Phil Dowd
Assistant referees: Mick McDonough & Scott Ledger
Fourth official: Andrew Penn
Match Prediction:
Everton 3 – 1 Sunderland
Cannot see us winning away from home, especially against an in form Everton.
Next Fixtures:
Sunderland face a massive game against Stoke on Monday night for ESPN camera’s to show.
No point going to Everton with negative thoughts. Everton may be “in form” but we can’t beat teams that aren’t in form so why worry? I was at Everton a few years back when we knocked them out of the “League” Cup. If I remember right Michael Bridges scored a goal. Bridges made his debut at Goodison a couple of years before and scored two goals to launch a promising but ultimately injury blighted career. I would like to see Ryan Noble given at least half an hour tonight as he looks an exciting prospect. Why not ? We seem to nurture kids with potential until they lose confidence or interest. The main missing ingredient recently has been effort & confidence. Bruce needs to prove he can motivate his players.
I remember an old pal Michael Proctor making his debut in that cup game also where we won on penalties, seems an age ago now and he is now retired due to knee problems! Haway the lads prove my negative thoughts wrong for a change.