Preview: Everton vs Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

Ex-Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta visits the Toffees' new home for the first time on Saturday night, when his Arsenal side head to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Premier League.

The Gunners somehow got the better of doomed Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, while David Moyes's men were no match for Club World Cup winners Chelsea.

Match preview

The league leaders hosting a team on course to be the worst in Premier League history had the potential to be completely catastrophic for Arteta's men, and it oh so nearly was at the Emirates Stadium, courtesy of Arsenal putting in their worst performance of the season to date.

Rob Edwards's men would have been well worth the point that Tolu Arokodare had seemingly won for them, but in the cruellest of cruel twists of fate, Yerson Mosquera emulated Sam Johnstone by turning the ball into his own net deep into second-half stoppage time.

There was no celebration among Mikel Arteta and co at the end of that 2-1 win - simply an overwhelming sense of relief - as the North London giants just about maintained their two-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

Perhaps feeling the effects of the unrelenting winter schedule, a formerly resolute Arsenal side have kept just one clean sheet in their last six Premier League games, and they head north having conceded the first goal in each of their last three top-flight away matches.

Victory will at least guarantee their position at the top of the table on Christmas Day, but that has historically been a bad omen for the visitors - in each of the four Premier League seasons where they have been first on December 25, they failed to win the title.

Festive cheer is not in short supply on the blue half of Merseyside either, as if results go Everton's way this weekend, there is the smallest chance that Moyes's men could break into the top five of the rankings.

The ninth-placed Toffees only have two-point deficits to make up to Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Manchester United and Liverpool thanks to a praiseworthy run of four wins and two losses from their last six games, although one of those defeats arrived last weekend.

Going down 2-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge prevented Everton from forcing their way into the European spots, and the Hill Dickinson Stadium has lost its impenetrable feel since the Toffees went unbeaten in their first five home games of 2025-26 - they have now lost two of their last four.

Furthermore, of the six Premier League defeats that Moyes's men have suffered this season, five of them have come against teams competing in the Champions League, showcasing the ongoing chasm between themselves and the European elite.

Everton held Arsenal to two draws last season, though, and they have only lost one of their last seven Premier League home matches against the Gunners, although the Goodison Park factor no longer applies.

Everton Premier League form:

Arsenal Premier League form:

Arsenal form (all competitions):

Team News

Arsenal's obligatory defensive injury occurred inside the first half of Saturday's win over Wolves, as Ben White came off with a hamstring problem following a sprint, and the Englishman is expected to spend at least a month out with the issue.

White joins Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh), Kai Havertz (knee) and Max Dowman (ankle) in the Arsenal infirmary, but it is one in, one out in the Gunners' rearguard, as Riccardo Calafiori is back from a one-game ban.

Jurrien Timber, William Saliba and Piero Hincapie will therefore all shift over one place to the right, while Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard are surely in line for returns further up the field.

Moyes and former protege Arteta can empathise on the injury front, as Everton fulcrum Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was forced off in the 16th minute of the clash with Chelsea with a hamstring problem, one that will certainly rule him out of this encounter.

To make matters worse, Jack Grealish is a question mark after feeling tightness in the same game, and the hosts have also lost two other key components - Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye - to Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Jarrad Branthwaite (thigh), Seamus Coleman (hamstring) and Merlin Rohl (groin) will play no part in this fixture either.

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; O'Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam; Dibling, Alcaraz, Grealish; Barry

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Hincapie, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

We say: Everton 0-2 Arsenal

If all of Ndiaye, Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall miss out for Everton, the Toffees can surely kiss their chances of a win - and a goal - against a well-rested Arsenal team goodbye.

With a full week's preparation under their belts and the pressure to respond to last weekend's near-disaster, Arteta's men should make light work of their depleted hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.