Sunderland vs Everton - Poyet's side desperately need a win

After the spanking they got against Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland dropped down to the bottom of the table, making this another important game for the club. While they still have 2 games in hand, it does not bode well for them to leave it till the end. Sunderland are 7 points behind 17^th placed Norwich, but unless they can make the 2 games advantage, they could very well end up getting relegated to the lower division. They have some very tough games coming up, so it very important that the club takes as many points as possible from the remaining fixtures.

Everton will be on a high after comprehensively beating Arsenal, and extending their win streak to 6 games. Roberto Martinez’s side is on a hot run of form, and they will need to keep it going for them to have a chance to break into the top 4. With only a point behind Arsenal and with a game in hand, games like these are important for them to get all 3 points. This is especially true considering they have a much tougher fixture list compared to the Gunners and while they can hope that Arsenal do drop a few points, Everton have their destiny in their own hands as of now.

The game is very important for both teams considering what is at stake. If Sunderland do not pick up some valuable points, they will end up having to fight the relegation battle till the last day. Everton, on the other hand, have a great chance to finish in the Top 4 after close to a decade and they cannot afford to drop points against weak sides, considering they have to face both Manchester clubs in the run-in. It will be an interesting contest between the two sides, with the victor making the most of the spoils.

Injuries

Sunderland are without long term absentees Fletcher and Westwood, with no new injuries reported. So, Gus Poyet will have a relatively full strength squad to pick his team from. The same cannot be said of Roberto Martinez, considering he has as many as 7 on the injury list. Leon Osman is not fit for this game, out with an eye laceration injury, and the manager is without several other important players such as Jagielka, Pienaar, etc. There are no injured players set to return any time soon either.

Head to Head

Sunderland and Everton have played each other a total of 161 times, with both teams enjoying a similar success ratio. Everton has a marginal upper hand with 71 wins while Sunderland has recorded 63 wins against the Toffees.

Form

Sunderland – LLLLD

Everton – WWWWW

Prediction – Sunderland 0-3 Everton

Sunderland have been in atrocious form, even losing to Norwich, against whom they should have taken all 3 points to get out of relegation. Everton, on the other hand, are unstoppable at the moment, and will take some extraordinary effort to beat. They will be on a particular high after beating Arsenal in such an easy manner. It should be an easy win for the team from Merseyside.