AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten home record against Everton when they host the Toffees at Vitality Stadium on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
The Cherries have registered two wins and two draws on home soil since locking horns for the first time with the Merseysiders in the Premier League in 2015/16.
In the first league meeting between the clubs, a dramatic late leveller from Junior Stanislas earned Eddie Howe’s team a 3-3 draw at Vitality Stadium in November 2015.
Stanislas was also on target when the Cherries recorded their first win against the Toffees in September 2016, while Ryan Fraser’s double saw them repeat the feat the following season.
Joshua King’s penalty and a goal from Nathan Ake helped the Cherries claw back a two-goal deficit to salvage a share of the points from a 2-2 draw last season.
Ahead of the game, afcb.co.uk caught up with Sam Carroll, who covers the fortunes of Everton for the Liverpool Echo.
afcb.co.uk: How have Everton started the season?
SC: It's been a solid, if unspectacular start.
Victories over Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers at home mean Everton already have a five-point advantage on last season's corresponding fixtures and they also overcame Lincoln City in a difficult Carabao Cup tie.
That being said, the defeat at Aston Villa several weeks ago was disappointing but the Blues bounced back instantly. This means they head to Bournemouth with confidence as well as no fresh injuries following the international break.
afcb.co.uk: How can we expect them to play being away from home?
SC: Everton's away form has been the sticking point for a long time.
Had they had even half the success on the road last term as they did at Goodison Park, they would have comfortably finished ahead of Wolves and gained European football.
The loss at Villa once more highlighted Marco Silva's urgent need to address this increasingly frustrating issue.
With the season being in its infancy, however, and games with Bournemouth at the Vitality no stranger to excitement, I can see Everton taking a front-foot approach as they try to take the game to the Cherries.
afcb.co.uk: They signed plenty of new players this summer that caught the eye of the nation, how have they settled in?
SC: Nicely!
Andre Gomes, of course, was here on loan from Barcelona last season and put in potentially his finest performance of the season so far against Wolves.
Fabian Delph, meanwhile, looks an absolute steal at £8m and could well prove to be one of the signings of the summer.
Alex Iwobi is already something of a fans' favourite after scoring two goals in his first two starts for the club and it just feels like Moise Kean needs a goal to kick-start something special for the teenager in the Premier League. He's a real talent.
afcb.co.uk: Who are the dangermen to look out for?
SC: Probably the newly-formed front four.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is no stranger to Premier League fans for the qualities he possesses but Alex Iwobi, Richarlison and Moise Kean all showed glimpses of brilliance against Wolves last time out.
Iwobi, Kean and Richarlison are young, fearless, direct and always looking for goal. Bournemouth would be wise not to let them see too much of the ball.
afcb.co.uk: Where are Everton's weaknesses?
SC: Despite an improvement at the back since the turn of 2019, Everton have conceded two goals in consecutive games against Lincoln and Wolves.
It's definitely an issue that Silva will want to put to bed against Bournemouth and he will be well aware of the dangers the Cherries possess.
afcb.co.uk: What sort of job has Marco Silva done?
SC: Again, solid but unspectacular.
Together with Marcel Brands, he has definitely brought an improvement to the Blues' transfer business and is continuing to ship out a mass of deadwood accumulated over the reigns of Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce.
Last season was probably round about where Everton expected to finish but supporters will definitely be expecting to kick-on this time around with a run in one of the cups, too.
You can follow Sam on Twitter – @SamCarroll0
Match officials: Paul Tierney (referee), Eddie Smart (assistant), Harry Lennard (assistant), John Brooks (fourth official), Michael Oliver (VAR), Stephen Child (assistant VAR).
