Everton vs Arsenal: Writer Prediction League

Everton's loss to Watford on Saturday -- the club's sixth in their last 11 matches -- was yet another setback to the Toffees' European dream and the pride of our staff here at Royal Blue Mersey.

The often lifeless 3-2 loss was not predicted by a single member of our staff, though they did get a few other things correct. The predictions for the weekend's match are below, with correct guesses in bold.

Five writers correctly guessed that Romelu Lukaku would score the match's opening goal, while Mike also correctly guessed that he'd be voted Everton's man of the match. But, no one predicted an Everton loss, keeping any of our writers from having a particularly big week.

However, we do have a new leader atop the writer prediction league table.

With one point this week, Tyler jumped past Calvin and I at the top of the standings. Mike's two-point week pushed him into the mix in the top half of the table, while Matt continues to languish in last place.

This week, Everton takes on Arsenal at Goodison Park. The Gunners have outscored their last three opponents 11-3, so it should be a stern test for the Toffees' backline. It's a test, apparently, that most of our writers do not think Ronald Koeman's side will pass.

Six of ten writers think that Arsenal will put three goals the Toffees, who struggled in defense against Watford over the weekend. Only two writers, Brian and Sean, picked an Everton victory, both by the score of 2-1.

Five writers also picked Alexis Sanchez to score the match's first goal for the Gunners, while only one writer thinks the Toffees will get on the board first. Given the team's struggles to start matches well, that should come as no surprise!