Two teams who have endured disappointing campaigns to date will face off on Sunday when Everton welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Goodison Park.
The hosts go into the weekend sitting only two places and two points above the relegation zone, while Spurs are also in the bottom half having won just twice in the league since the opening day of the season.
Match preview
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It is hard to know which club will be more underwhelmed with their performances so far this season - an Everton side who sit 16th having been tipped to challenge for the top six or a Spurs side languishing in 11th when they were backed to be the closest challengers to Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race.
Sunday will be the first time these two teams have met while both have been in the bottom half since April 2004, and for Spurs time is running out to turn their form around if they want to at least salvage a top-four challenge this term.
Eight points already separate Mauricio Pochettino's side from the Champions League spots, while leaders Liverpool are a full 16 points clear of Spurs 10 games into the season following their victory when the two sides met last weekend.
The Londoners will hope for a happier trip south from their second Merseyside visit in as many weeks, but they have picked up just one point from their last three league games and have only won six of their last 22 in the top flight. Indeed, Spurs have amassed only 23 points from those 22 games - an average which, spread over a 38-game season, would leave them just short of the 40-point mark generally required to guarantee safety.
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It is no exaggeration to suggest that Tottenham have been in relegation form for more than eight months now, then, and another defeat on Sunday would be their 19th of the calendar year across all competitions - their most since 2008.
Incidentally, 2008 was also the last time they failed to pick up more than their current tally of 12 points from their opening 10 games of a season, and it is their away form which is the biggest reason behind that.
Only Everton and Norwich have picked up fewer points on the road this season, and remarkably Tottenham's wait for an away Premier League win stretches all the way back to January, since when they have accrued a measly two points from the 33 on offer.
Indeed, Spurs' only two away league victories in 2019 as a whole came against Cardiff City and Fulham, meaning that you have to go back to their last visit to Everton - in December 2018 - for their most recent win away to a team currently in the top flight.
It is a woeful record for a side that reached the final of the Champions League last season, but they will be hoping that a return to Goodison - where they won 6-2 just before Christmas last year - will spark a much-needed end to their troubles on the road.
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It certainly looks like a good opportunity to get back to winning ways on paper, with Spurs unbeaten in their last 13 league games against Everton in a run which stretches back to December 2012.
Everton have never gone 14 top-flight games without a win against Tottenham, nor have they ever lost three consecutive top-flight home games against an opponent by three or more goals - a fate they risk suffering this weekend.
Only the bottom three have conceded more goals than the Toffees after 10 games of the season, while their run of five defeats and just one win from their last six league games leaves them rock bottom of the form table too.
Tuesday's 2-0 win over Watford booked Everton's place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals and may well have bought Marco Silva some time, but there is no doubt that results in the league will have to improve quickly if he is to remain in charge for much longer.
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Winnable fixtures against two of the four teams below them in the table are coming up after this one, but Silva will not have given up hope of getting a positive result against Spurs too.
While Everton's general form has been poor of late, they have won seven of their last nine home league games and have kept clean sheets in seven of their last 10. Nine of their 10 points this season have come in front of their own fans.
Coupled with Tottenham's travel sickness, that provides a significant reason for Everton to be optimistic, although they may also need some of the luck which deserted them against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
The Toffees led 2-1 heading into the final 10 minutes at the Amex, only to controversially concede a VAR-awarded penalty before Lucas Digne's 94th-minute own goal compounded their misery.
Everton Premier League form: LLLLWL
Everton form (all competitions): WLLWLW
Spurs Premier League form: WLWLDL
Spurs form (all competitions): WLLDWL
Team News
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Tottenham are monitoring Jan Vertonghen's hamstring injury ahead of this match, with the Belgian reduced to the role of unused sub against Liverpool last weekend.
Should Vertonghen be passed fit then Pochettino could consider switching to three at the back, although he will be forced into at least one change with Danny Rose suspended.
Summer signing Ryan Sessegnon is close to being ready for his debut and could feature this weekend, but Pochettino has confirmed that he is not yet ready for 90 minutes and so Ben Davies is expected to start on the left.
Erik Lamela and Hugo Lloris remain sidelined for the visitors, with the latter being replaced as skipper by Harry Kane during his lengthy spell out.
Kane has scored braces in each of his last four appearances against Everton and could become the first player to score two or more goals in five consecutive Premier League games against a particular opponent.
Theo Walcott's scoring record against Spurs is not quite that impressive, but the former Arsenal man scored in both league meetings last season and has six league goals against them in total - his joint-highest tally against any club.
Silva will make a late call regarding the fitness of Yerry Mina after the centre-back was forced off with another knee problem in midweek, while Bernard and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are long-term absentees.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Digne; Delphs, Gomes; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison; Calvert-Lewin
Tottenham possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Sissoko, Winks; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane
We say: Everton 2-2 Tottenham
These are two sides low on confidence and in desperate need of a win, but we can see them cancelling each other out. Everton's home form has been relatively good despite their overall troubles at the moment, whereas Spurs have a truly dreadful record on the road which stretches back to January. It is a difficult one to call, but we are going for a share of the spoils.
Barney Corkhill
