Next Monday, 19th of January 2015, Everton, who is still looking for some peace of mind this season, will entertain a somewhat rejuvenated West Brom at Goodison Park for round 22 of the English Premier League, on a match that the Toffees need to win not only to put an end to their miserable recent streak but also to climb a few places on the league table, since they are dangerously close to the relegation zone at the moment.

After Everton’s interesting performance and important draw against the current English champions, Manchester City it was expected that the Toffees would be back on tracks but such thing did not happen as they were knocked out of the FA Cup at the expenses of West Ham in the middle of the week.

Everton are definitely living a complicated moment, especially if we have in mind that their last official win was more than a month ago, when they overcame QPR at Goodison Park on 15th December. From that match onwards, the Toffees have only managed to grant one miserable point from five EPL matches and are now just three points above the relegation zone. Their manager, Roberto Martinez, knows about the importance of the upcoming match against West Brom and is also aware that the team needs to clinch a win as soon as possible in order to restore the players’ confidence and motivation levels.

For that particular clash, the Spanish boss will probably still not be able to rely on the contribution of Tim Howard, Osman, Gibson, Pienaar, Distin and McCarthy, all currently sidelined due to injury.

As for West Brom, they seem to be truly rejuvenated after the arrival of Tony Pulis to the helm of the team early this year and have not yet been defeat since that. The experienced Welsh manager led his new team to a smashing 7-0 home win over the modest Gateshead at FA Cup and granted an important win against Hull last weekend.

The match at Goodison Park will be a major test to the team’s apparent change and, in case of win, the Baggies will overcome Everton at the EPL table.

For that important clash, Tony Pulis will probably still not be able to rely on the services of the Swedish defender Jonas Olsson, who remains sidelined because of injury.

Despite their recent poor moment, Everton are favourites for the next Monday’s match, although, if West Brom manages to replicate their recent good performances, they might be able to leave Goodison Park with a smile on their faces.

Everton

Stats: W-0 L-3 D-2

Recent Form - LDDLL

West Brom

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - WWDLL

Possible Line-ups

Everton (4-3-3) – Robles - Distin - Jagielka - Coleman - Baines - Besic - Barry - Barkley - Mirallas - Lukaku - Naismith

West Brom (4-4-2) – Foster - Wisdom - McAuley - Lescott - Baird - Yacob - Morrison - Brunt - Sessegnon - Brown - Berahino

Prediction

Everton 1 West Brom 1