Everton vs Huddersfield Predictions

Everton fans welcomed the appointment of manager Marco Silva with open arms after they got their wish and saw Sam Allardyce leave in the summer, and so far it’s looking promising for the Portuguese boss.

The Toffees opened their season with a 2-2 draw at Wolves, despite playing the entire second half with ten men. Next up was a 2-1 victory over Southampton, and last weekend another 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth. They remain unbeaten, and the brand of football that Silva is instilling in the players is an exciting prospect at Goodison Park, but that’s not to say there aren’t concerns that need addressing.

For one, their defensive setup looks absolutely abysmal at times. They have scored first in all three of their Premier League games, but they saw Wolves come from behind twice to equalise in that opening weekend, and despite looking comfortable against Southampton, they still opened the door for a nervy finish. Last weekend was exactly the same, with a comfortable looking 2-0 lead almost instantaneously turning into a 2-2 draw inside four frantic second half minutes.

The ease with which their defence collapses certainly needs fixing, and the fact they have picked up two straight red cards in just three games is a worry too. To make matters worse, Michael Keane is now sidelined for at least a month after fracturing his skull last weekend, joining Yerry Mina on the injury list. Kurt Zouma and Mason Holgate are expected to line up in the centre of defence on Saturday.

Huddersfield will hope to take advantage of this defensive instability, but The Terriers aren’t exactly looking sound at the back themselves. They did open the season with a hosting of Chelsea and a trip to Manchester City, but they conceded a huge nine goals in those two games. Despite the illustrious opposition, they were certainly heavier defeats than they would have wished for.

Their first realistic proposition of points came last weekend at home to Cardiff, but they couldn’t manage to break through the admittedly strong Cardiff back line and the game ended goalless. Add to that their 2-0 League Cup defeat against Stoke in midweek and it’s not looking like a promising season for Huddersfield.

Away from home they have won just three league matches since the start of last season, losing 12 of these 20 matches. They have, however, scored in three of their last four, so against this shaky Everton back line they will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet.

On the balance of things, we’re expecting Everton’s talents at the other end of the pitch to outweigh their defensive deficiencies. They have scored nine goals in their four competitive games this season and face a Huddersfield side who have shipped 11 in the same amount of matches. The Terriers have lost by two or more goals in three of these games, so we’re backing an Everton -1.0 Asian Handicap Win along with a 3-1 correct score predictions.