Thursday sees a midweek Premier League clash where both sides have a lot to play for, albeit very different stakes when Everton FC travels to West Bromwich Albion. Nine points adrift of Newcastle United for the final safety position, West Brom has to get results now or accept the devastation of relegation.
Just two points behind West Ham United for the fourth and final Champions League qualification slot, the Toffees are looking to finally make it back into the top European tournament for the first time since 2005-06.
This match is probably going to have a lot of interest in the nation of Nigeria, with Sports Betting Nigeria set to see a lot of action. That’s because two of the five members of the Nigerian national team that play their club ball in the Premier League are in this game.
Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi and West Brom defender Semi Ajayi are both Super Eagles, so that will be a storyline here.
That said, let’s run through the FYIs and other need to know specific bits of information for this clash at The Hawthorns.
Everton FC at West Bromwich Albion FYIs
Kick-off: Thursday Mar. 4, 18:00 GMT, The Hawthorns
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Odds: West Brom 16/5 | Draw 13/5 | Everton 17/20
Premier League position, form guide: Everton 7th 43 pts WWLLD West Brom 19th, 17 pts WDDLL
Team News
For the men of Carlo Ancelotti, there are several fitness concerns. James Rodriguez, Seamus Coleman and Tom Davies face late fitness tests.
Jean Philippe-Gbamin and Yerry Mina are out injured. Flipping over to the hosts, Robert Snodgrass and Kieran Gibbs, both out injured, are their only fitness concerns.
Starting XI Predictions
Everton (4-3-1-2): Pickford; Holgate, Keane, Godfrey, Digne; Doucoure, Allan, Andre Gomes; Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison
West Brom (4-3-3): Johnstone; Furlong, O’Shea, Bartley, Townsend; Yokuslu; Pereira, Gallagher, Maitland-Niles, Phillips; Diagne
Score Prediction: Everton 2, West Brom 0
Ancellotti has a track record of trophies and accomplishment, so he knows how to get the job done. Getting that top four bid means the Toffees cannot drop points here and I don’t think they will. Poor WBA, it looks like they’re very likely to get sent down at the end of the year.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.