The Toffees will be hoping to build on their win at Goodison Park last time out which eased the pressure on Everton boss Marco Silva.
As Everton prepare to return to Premier League action this weekend, Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has given his opinion on how he feels the Toffees will fare, in his weekly column.
Marco Silva’s charges head to the south coast on Saturday hoping to build on their superb win at Goodison Park last time out, goals from Bernard and Gylfi Sigurdsson helping the Toffees edge out of the bottom three.
Brighton, meanwhile, were unlucky to slip to a last-gasp defeat at Aston Villa last time out, but their last home game saw them record a superb 3-0 win over Tottenham, and Nicholas feels they will be a “tricky” proposition for the Toffees but ultimately predicts a draw as the Seagulls don’t have the width necessary to “exploit” their opponents.
“Everton just about got through it last week against West Ham,” Nicholas told Sky Sports News. “Marco Silva picked a team that had to win that football match. From the fans’ point of view, he would have been out of the door with a loss.
“When you go to places like Brighton, it can be tricky. With Brighton again, I am not sure what they want to be. They battered Tottenham and possess some really good qualities. The areas to exploit Everton are with width, but Brighton do not have that in abundance, so it will be a pleasant point for both in the end.”
Brighton could secure their first back-to-back victories against Everton, having won 1-0 in this fixture last season – their first triumph against the Toffees since 1982 (BBC Sport).
Everton have not won at Brighton since a 2-1 top-flight victory in back 1983, but the Seagulls have won just three of their 15 fixtures with Everton in all competitions, every win coming at home.
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