BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has predicted that Everton will beat Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Toffees are hosting the Whites in a 3pm kick-off at Goodison Park.
Both teams are much lower down the table than they would like to be, with the hosts 16th and the visitors one place above them in 15th.
Frank Lampard’s Everton tenure got off to an excellent start with an impressive 4-1 FA Cup win over Brentford, but his honeymoon period didn’t last long, with his team losing 3-1 in the Premier League at Newcastle on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have drawn their only fixture since the break, a six-goal thriller at Villa Park.
Ahead of the game, the Argentine manager has already confirmed that Junior Firpo, Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford will all miss out through injury [Yorkshire Evening Post].
It’s a tough one to call, with both teams looking vulnerable defensively in recent times.
However, Lawrenson has gone for a narrow home win.
Lawrenson predicts Everton vs Leeds scoreline
‘Leeds seemed to have got some of their feistiness back in their draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday, which is important for them – it has been missing for most of the season,’ he wrote [BBC Sport].
‘Everton have got injury problems in the centre of their defence, but they have been struggling at the back for a while now anyway, even when everyone was fit.
‘I am still going for Frank Lampard’s side to win this one, but it won’t be easy and the crowd will definitely play a big part in making that happen.
‘That is a big thing that Everton have as a positive now. The discord you saw in the stands when Rafael Benitez was in the dugout has gone, and of course it makes a massive difference when everyone is together and behind the team.’
His scoreline prediction is 1-0.
Toffees to triumph?
If things go the way Lawro has predicted, Everton will move to one point behind Leeds while still holding a game in hand over them.
However, if Leeds win and Brentford defeat Crystal Palace, the gap between Everton and the nearest team above them could widen to six points, while positive results for Newcastle and Norwich could see them slip into the relegation zone.
A key positive for the Toffees is that they have at least one game in hand on every other team in the bottom half apart from Burnley and Leicester.
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