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Today begins Everton’s most intense run of games this season. It will see them play nine games in the span of 43 days, intertwined with the holidays. It will very likely be this month and a half of action that will decide whether or not the Toffees have a chance to challenge for European football.
The depth and the age of the roster could certainly come under scrutiny during this time. Some of the team’s biggest contributors are getting long in the tooth: Phil Jagielka (34 years old), Ashley Williams (32), Leighton Baines (nearly 32), Gareth Barry (35), Maarten Stekelenburg (34, but he’s a goalkeeper). That is the club’s defensive backbone and none of them have truly reliable backups.
However, if there is one game they should be fresh for, it is Saturday’s match with Swansea after an international break. The Swans are bad. They have one point from their last seven matches. Their new American manager, Bob Bradley, is already in the hot seat to keep them alive in the Premier League, which could prove to be a tough task. The Welsh side has scored just 10 goals in their 11 league games, while conceding 21 times. Both marks are second-worst in the Prem.
Long story, short: Everton are at home and are clearly the better team. If they don’t win, Ronald Koeman will be very angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Match Details
Date and start time: Saturday, November 19 at 10:00 a.m. EST/7 a.m. WST/3:00 p.m. BST
Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England
Capacity: 39,572
Weather: 43°F/6°C, partly cloudy, 17% chance of rain, 7 mph winds
How to Watch/Listen
TV: none listed - United States
none listed - United Kingdom
Radio: EvertonFC.com Match Centre, TalkSport Radio
Live stream: NBC Sports Live Extra, EvertonTV
Information from LiveSoccerTV.com
Lineups
Everton
Starting XI - Stekeleburg, Baines, Jagielka (c), Williams, Coleman, McCarthy, Gueye, Bolasie, Lennon, Barkley, Lukaku
Bench - Robles, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Cleverley, Valencia, Funes Mori, Holgate
Swansea City
Starting XI - Fabianski, Taylor, Amat, Fernandez, Naughton, Fer, Cork, Fulton, Routledge, Sigurdsson, Barrow
Bench - Nordfeldt, Rangel, van der Hoorn, Ki, Dyer, McBurnie, Borja