Everton vs West Bromwich Albion Predictions

• Everton were unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 Premier League games at Goodison Park.
• The Toffees started their 2020/21 domestic campaign with successive clean sheets.
• West Brom recorded the second lowest xG (0.35) on the opening weekend on the Premier League season.
• Everton averaged just 1.2 goals per 90 minutes at home in the Premier League last season.

Toffees make promising start

Following some savvy market manoeuvres and a sprinkling of class, Everton started the 2020/21 campaign with an entirely reconstructed midfield, and the Toffees new-look centre shone in their fine 1-0 win at Tottenham on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues finished 2019/20 all the way down in 12^th spot after a miserable three wins in their final 12 top-flight contests, but following some squad retooling over the summer, the evidence they provided at Spurs suggests Everton are ready to push for a much higher position this time around.

On Saturday, the Toffees, who were beaten just once in their last 12 Premier League tussles at Goodison Park, have a chance to solidify their fast start when they welcome an ordinary looking West Brom team to Merseyside.

Baggies worrying beginnings

West Brom’s 3-0 mid-week Carabao Cup win against League Two’s Harrogate Town at the Hawthorns would have done little to repair the hit the Baggies’ confidence took in Albion’s Premier League opener at home to Leicester last Sunday.

Slaven Bilić’s charges were soundly beaten by the Foxes, who powered to a 3-0 victory in the West Midlands thanks to debut effort from Timothy Castagne and a penalty spot brace from Jamie Vardy.

The most worrying aspect of Albion’s performance was their lack of attacking thrust, and the Baggies recorded an xG (expected goals) figure of just 0.35 – which was the second lowest of the weekend behind fellow Premier League new boys Fulham.

Three points and a clean sheet on offer for the hosts

Everton looked tactically robust and defensively sound in their 1-0 triumph at Tottenham last week, and the Toffees followed up that clean sheet with another in mid-week, albeit against lower-league Salford City in the Carabao Cup.

Nevertheless, successive wins to nil should make Everton a confident and dangerous prospect this week, and having lost just once in their last 12 Premier League fixtures at Goodison Park, the Toffees also have Merseyside momentum to draw from.

Following a strong defensive showing against Tottenham, Everton should find keeping a lower-level WBA team at arm’s length a little easier this weekend, and that in turn makes the Toffees win to nil market an attractive prospect, while our correct score prediction points towards a 2-0 Blues victory.

Everton won 3-0 against Salford on Wednesday, though the final score was padded by a late Michael Keane penalty. The Toffees scored one or fewer goals in eight of their final 11 home matches in 2019/20, which indicates they have work to do to become a more prolific attacking force in the Premier League.

With that considered, a high-margin Everton win seems unlikely, though two goals against an Albion team that look ill-equipped for life at the top level looks with the host’s capabilities.