Everton Starting To Flag

David Moyes returns to Goodison Park with Man Utd trailing his former employers by 7 points but on form there is very little to pick between them.

When the sides met at the start of December, Everton were at the peak of their powers and United at a low ebb; since then the gap in performances has narrowed.

Shot On Target 5-Game Moving Average

If we examine the shots on target supremacy of both teams (shots on target taken versus shots on target conceded) United are slightly in the ascendancy.

There is nothing new to discuss regards David Moyes and his United team; they have improved since their horrendous period around Christmas but they’ve not set the world alight.

The bigger concern surrounds Everton. They were terrific in the first half of the season, often enjoying a supremacy in excess of 2 shots on target per game but as the season has gone on the demands on a small squad have started to tell.

It is to their credit that results haven’t tailed off markedly but Roberto Martinez’s team are conceding a worrying amount of shots.

In their last six matches they have conceded on average 17.7 shots per game and apart form Arsenal, the opposition was moderate.

At some stage the stats are going to hurt them. The draw is priced as the outsider of three at 13/5 (Bet365); considering it is the most likely result it rates a good bet.