Everton will be looking to win in the Premier League for the first time since the end of September when they head to West London on Sunday afternoon to face Brentford.
The Toffees are currently 11th in the table, collecting 15 points from their first 12 matches of the season, while Brentford are 14th, having picked up 13 points from their opening 12 games of 2021-22.
Match preview
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Brentford have won three, drawn four and lost five of their 12 Premier League matches this season to collect 13 points, which has left them in 14th position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Overall, it has been a positive start to the season for the promoted outfit, but it would be fair to say that their recent form is slightly concerning, having picked up just one point from the last 15 available.
Indeed, the Bees have not been victorious in the Premier League since the start of October, and they lost four straight games against Chelsea, Leicester City, Burnley and Norwich City between October 16 and November 6.
Thomas Frank's side were then involved in a six-goal thriller against Newcastle United last weekend; the visitors twice led at St James' Park but ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Incredibly, Sunday's clash will be the first meeting between these two teams in the league since February 1954, when Everton ran out 6-1 winners at Goodison Park.
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Everton will enter Sunday's contest off the back of a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City last weekend, which followed a goalless draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur before the international break.
The Toffees made such an impressive start to the season under new head coach Rafael Benitez, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough few weeks for the Merseyside outfit.
Indeed, Everton have not been victorious in the league since overcoming Norwich City on September 25, while they have lost four of their last five in England's top flight to drop down the table.
Benitez's team are still 11th in the division, though, just four points behind sixth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, meaning that it would not take a lot for the club to move closer to the European positions.
Everton will be wary of suffering another defeat this weekend ahead of two huge home matches against bitter rivals Liverpool and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal at the start of December.
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Team News
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Brentford will again be without the services of Josh Dasilva, Julian Jeanvier, Kristoffer Ajer and David Raya through injury, while Mathias Jorgensen is also expected to miss out.
Mathias Jensen and Mads Bech Sorensen are both available, though, and there will be a return to the squad for Yoane Wissa after spending six weeks on the sidelines with an ankle problem.
Jensen missed the draw at Newcastle after contracting coronavirus, but he should be back in the XI here, while Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo will again feature as the front two in a 3-5-2 formation.
As for Everton, Mason Holgate and Richarlison will both miss out through suspension, while Yerry Mina, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tom Davies and Andre Gomes are all definitely unavailable through injury.
Abdoulaye Doucoure has returned to full training, though, and could be in the squad, and the Toffees are hopeful that Demarai Gray, who has been struggling with a groin problem, will be fit to feature.
Allan is also a doubt due to a muscular problem, but Benitez is confident that the midfielder will be able to prove his fitness in time for the clash against Brentford.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Rasmussen, Jansson, Pinnock; Canos, Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen, Henry; Toney, Mbeumo
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Coleman, Godfrey, Keane, Digne; Gordon, Allan, Delph, Iwobi; Townsend; Rondon
We say: Brentford 2-2 Everton
This should be a very open and entertaining game of football, with both teams capable of scoring goals. Everton's absentee list is fairly substantial at the moment, which puts the Toffees at a disadvantage, but we believe that the visitors will have enough quality to secure a share of the spoils.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brentford win with a probability of 54.17%. A draw had a probability of 24.7% and a win for Everton had a probability of 21.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.43%) and 2-1 (9.53%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.71%), while for a Everton win it was 0-1 (7.19%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Brentford in this match.
