Everton face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon looking to end their run of three successive defeats in the Premier League.
Despite having only recorded one win in eight matches this season, Fulham currently remain outside of the relegation zone by a point.
Match preview
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While Everton still remain in seventh position in the table, manager Carlo Ancelotti will be far from happy with how his side have performed in recent weeks.
Defeats to Southampton, Newcastle United and Manchester United have come in the absence of Richarlison, who has been serving a three-match ban for his dismissal against Liverpool.
Their subsequent results suggest that the Toffees have become too reliant on the Brazilian's partnership with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, leaving Ancelotti with plenty of questions to answer going forward.
As well as their issues in attack, Everton have also conceded seven goals in their last three outings, leaving the club with unresolved issues at the back.
Everton have little chance of breaking into the top six unless they solve their problems at both ends of the pitch, but Ancelotti knows that winning by any means necessary is most important this weekend.
Despite 10 places separating the two clubs, the Merseyside outfit have conceded just one goal fewer than their hosts, who have been showing signs of progress.
Ademola Lookman's abysmal effort from the penalty spot against West Ham United overshadowed the fact that Fulham had come within minutes of recording a second clean sheet in succession, only for Tomas Soucek to break their resolve in the 91st minute.
Although Scott Parker remains under pressure after a sixth setback in eight matches, there is every indication that the Cottagers are playing for the Englishman ahead of a crucial period of the season.
Trips to Leicester City and Manchester City will follow Sunday's encounter, meaning that Fulham can ill-afford to miss out on adding to their points tally.
As well as requiring a positive response from Lookman, Parker also needs Aleksandar Mitrovic to end a goalless streak which has lasted since September 19.
Fulham Premier League form: LLDLWL
Fulham form (all competitions): LLDLWL
Everton Premier League form: WWDLLL
Everton form (all competitions): WWDLLL
Team News
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Despite his goal against Manchester United before the international break, Bernard is likely to drop out of the side to accommodate the return of Richarlison.
With Seamus Coleman unlikely to recover from injury, Ancelotti must choose between Jonjoe Kenny and Ben Godfrey in the right-back position.
Fulham remain without Aboubakar Kamara, who is serving the last of a three-game ban for his sending off against Crystal Palace.
Providing that Lookman keeps his place in the side, Parker could opt to name the same starting lineup.
That would see Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek remain among the replacements.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Anguissa, Reed; Cordova-Reid, Cairney, Lookman; Mitrovic
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Kenny, Holgate, Keane, Digne; Doucoure, Allan, Gomes; Rodriguez, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison
We say: Fulham 1-2 Everton
Given their recent trajectories and players returning from international duty, we feel that this match could be much closer than many people anticipate. However, Richarlison may make the difference on his first start in more than a month, one which could lead to the visitors edging a hard-fought battle in West London.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
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 Everton win with a probability of 36.72%. A win for Fulham had a probability of 36.63% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Everton win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.11%) and 0-2 (6.35%). The likeliest Fulham win was 1-0 (9.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.67%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Everton would win this match.
