Two teams subjected to humbling defeats last weekend square off at Goodison Park in Saturday's early Premier League basement battle, as Everton play host to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Toffees were hit for four without reply against Aston Villa last weekend, while Gary O'Neil's men were thumped 4-1 at home by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Match preview
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Signs of promise counted for nought in Everton's opening game of the season, as the hosts' lack of attacking firepower came back to haunt them against Fulham, before Aston Villa had a field day capitalising on the Toffees' defensive deficiencies.
Unai Emery's men were also aiming to bounce back from an opening-day drubbing on Newcastle United's territory, and they did so in splendid fashion with a 4-0 romping of Sean Dyche's troops courtesy of strikes from John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran.
Still pointless and goalless two games into the new term, Everton's 20th-placed ranking could serve as a harbinger of doom should the Toffees fail to address their concerns at both ends of the field in what remains of the transfer window, although they could soon rectify some of their attacking concerns with the signing of Southampton's Che Adams.
The Scotland international will be integrated into a Toffees team crying out for some attacking inspiration, as they have netted a paltry three goals in their last six Premier League games, and not since October have they registered at least two goals in a home encounter.
Furthermore, four of Everton's last five games at Goodison Park have ended in defeat - the one exception being last year's survival-securing 1-0 win over Bournemouth on the final day - but their visitors also travel to Merseyside in the wake of being taught a footballing lesson.
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In strikingly similar fashion to Dyche's side, Wolves also opened their 2023-24 campaign with a painful 1-0 defeat after missing a plethora of chances to make the net bulge, succumbing to Manchester United at Old Trafford before Brighton's visit to their Molineux base.
Gary O'Neil's men would seemingly be able to provide a stern test of the Seagulls' mettle, but Wolves were well and truly taken down a peg in front of their own fans, as Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan and Solly March (2) helped themselves to goals before a Hwang Hee-chan consolation.
Only goal difference is keeping Wolves above Everton in 19th place ahead of Saturday's battle, and insult was added to injury against Brighton as Matheus Nunes was given his marching orders late on, which could prove to be his final contribution in a Wolves shirt amid interest from Manchester City.
Now on a three-game losing run and five-game winless streak in the top tier of English football, Wolves' away form also makes for nightmarish reading for the travelling faithful, as the visitors have suffered defeat in each of their last five on the road and have only beaten a demoted Southampton side on rival turf in 2023.
However, their final away success of 2022 came at Goodison Park in a memorable 2-1 Boxing Day win thanks to Rayan Ait Nouri's last-gasp strike, but it was Everton's turn to benefit from an injury-time goal at Molineux five months later, as Yerry Mina rescued a pivotal point in a 1-1 draw with 99 minutes on the clock.
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Team News
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Once again, Everton fans witnessed the all-too familiar sight of luckless striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffering an injury against Aston Villa, as the Englishman collided with Lions goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and is set for a spell on the sidelines with a cheekbone fracture.
Calvert-Lewin was one of two Everton casualties in the West Midlands, as Alex Iwobi tweaked his hamstring and is facing a few weeks out as a result, joining Dele Alli (groin), Seamus Coleman (knee), Jack Harrison (hip) and Dwight McNeil (ankle) in the infirmary, while Andre Gomes and new signing Youssef Chermiti will need assessing closer to kickoff.
Neal Maupay and Arnaut Danjuma seem set to benefit from Calvert-Lewin and Iwobi's likely absences, while Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko could freshen up the backline after last weekend's crushing loss.
As for Wolves, Portuguese midfielder Nunes is believed to have been the subject of a failed £47m bid from treble winners Man City, but even if he is still on the books at Molineux this weekend, he will sit out Sunday's match through suspension anyway.
Pablo Sarabia is the most likely candidate to come in for Nunes, who should be O'Neil's only absentee for Saturday's game, as the Wolves medical team have no injuries to concern themselves with at this moment in time.
Having replaced Fabio Silva on the 55-minute mark against Brighton - six minutes before wiping out the Seagulls' clean sheet - Hwang has a strong case to start over the Portuguese, as Sasa Kalajdzic continues to build up his fitness from the bench.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Gueye; Garner, Doucoure, Onana, Danjuma; Maupay
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Gomes, Lemina, Neto; Cunha, Hwang
We say: Everton 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Both managers could have felt aggrieved to lose their opening encounters, and both accepted being blown away by the better team last weekend, giving rise to a closely-contested and potentially drab affair at Goodison Park here.
Given both teams' attacking shortcomings, a goalless draw would not surprise us in the slightest, but neither defence is sturdy enough to keep their opponents at bay for 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
