Everton v AFC Bournemouth
Sunday 13th January,
Premier League, 2.15pm
Goodison Park

From good to not so good

Following a season of managerial upheaval at Goodison Park, Everton supporters had grounds for optimism when the club appointed Marco Silva at the start of 2018-19.

Tasked with bringing back the glory days of the pre-Premier League era, the Portuguese’s reign opened with a club record 22-0 win against Austrian outfit ATV Irdning in a friendly in July.

And while the Toffees may have been expected to run up a cricket score against a team of amateurs, Silva’s men kicked off their top-flight campaign by going four matches unbeaten, including an eventful 2-2 draw at Vitality Stadium at the end of August.

Although back-to-back defeats by West Ham and Arsenal checked their progress, Silva continued to make his mark with five wins and a draw from their next seven games propelling them to sixth by the end of November.

However, after taking just five points from their past eight matches, the early-season promise has faded as individual errors and conceding from set-pieces have started to become a recurring theme.

At a recent general meeting, Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale said the club’s aim was to compete for the Premier League and Champions League over the next decade.

Last time out 

Everton 2-1 Lincoln City

The five-times FA Cup winners were given a scare by League Two leaders Lincoln City before holding out for their first win in the competition since March 2016.

"We went toe to toe with a side of world-class players and a world-class manager,” said Lincoln manager Danny Cowley.

Everton made a flying start with Ademola Lookman heading them into the lead before Brazilian winger Bernard made it 2-0 inside the opening 15 minutes.

But Lincoln, quarter-finalists as a non-league club in 2017, pulled a goal back when Michael Bostwick exploited Everton’s weakness at set-pieces to make it 2-1.

The Toffees were then indebted to Richarlison for clearing from under his own crossbar as Lincoln pressed for an equaliser.

2018-19 top scorers: Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson (Nine goals in all competitions)

The manager

Born in Lisbon, Marco Silva played as a right-back for a variety of Portuguese clubs, finishing his career with a six-year spell at Estoril.

Immediately after retiring, he was appointed director of football at Estoril before becoming manager and guiding them back to the top flight following a seven-year absence in his first season.

Following spells with Sporting, during which they won the Portuguese Cup, and Greek club Olympiacos, Silva took over as head coach at Hull City, winning his first Premier League game 3-1 against the Cherries in January 2017.

Silva resigned after failing to save the Tigers from relegation and took over at Goodison Park following eight months in the hot-seat at Watford.

Key stats

1. Everton have won all three Premier League games against AFC Bournemouth at Goodison Park and also triumphed when the clubs met at the venue on two other occasions – in the FA Cup in 1937 and the League Cup in 1985.
2. Callum Wilson’s tally of nine Premier League goals is his best return in the top flight, while Ryan Fraser has provided a league-high nine assists. Fraser has assisted four of Wilson’s goals, making them the most productive pair in the top flight this season.
3. Joshua King has netted four times in six Premier League games against Everton for the Cherries. Junior Stanislas has scored three times in four Premier League appearances against the Toffees for the Cherries.
4. Adam Smith and Richarlison were both sent off when the teams battled out a 2-2 draw at Vitality Stadium in August.
5. Five AFC Bournemouth players have scored for the club at Goodison Park – Joshua King, Harry Arter, Marc Pugh, Colin Clarke and Colin Russell.
6. Everton, currently 11th, and 12th-placed AFC Bournemouth have both scored 31 goals this season and both have 27 points.
7. AFC Bournemouth have scored 10 of their 13 Premier League goals against Everton in the second half of games and five in the final 10 minutes.