Live Blog

Fulltime - Everton lose again, players start the game looking disinterested, the manager appears to be out of ideas.. what is happening to our football team?

Premier League

90+7’ - The ref added some time on there for injuries and substitutions to the 4’ originally advertised - the home fans are losing their minds but not to fear, Everton don’t have it in them to pull out an equalizer.

90+1’ - Everton pull one back, it’s Sigurdsson after Zouma wins an aerial ball from a melee in the box. Good finish, but it’s got to be too late right?

87’ - Kurt Zouma down on the ground and Saints charge forward, Shane Long’s shot is brilliantly parried away by Pickford, yet again.
Zouma lands heavily on his right hip after getting upended in the air. He’s going off, and the Blues are a man short now.

85’ - This game is just tamely drifting away from the Blues, who have not really imposed themselves on this game at all. No excuse for this dire performance, especially since the Saints played midweek and went to extra time too.

82’ - By all rights this should be 3-0 now. Jack Stevens caps off a wonderful run through the middle of the pitch with a header from a corner that fizzes just wide, the Blues’ zonal marking at setpieces carved open again.

75’ - Theo Walcott now on, back where he began his long Premier League career as a 16-year-old. Bernard has made way, and the Blues are in a 4-4-2 now.
With the Toffees pushing forward the Saints are still creating plenty of chances to bury this game, Everton not showing yet that they are worth a goal today.

67’ - Some raised tempers now. Redmond goes in hard on Idrissa Gueye on the ground, and the Senegalese midfielder is incensed, some pushing and shoving and both are booked now.

64’ - That should be the game. Nathan Redmond has been the best player on the pitch by far, runs through on goal and Lucas Digne’s despairing tackle actually takes the ball past Pickford right into the far corner. 2-0 now.

Richarlison is off, Cenk Tosun on now.

60’ - Everton give away a poor freekick right by their left corner flag, headed wide luckily.

56’ - Earlier than expected, but definitely needed. It’s Gomes coming off and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on, the England Under-21 Player of the Year!

51’ - Blues start better in the second half but it’s the hosts who score. James Ward-Prowse picks up the ball in the middle, runs at the Toffees and he places a spectacular shot past the despairing dive of Pickford right into the corner. 1-0 Saints.

46’ - Everton get the second half underway and apparently Gylfi Sigurdsson is here today. Immediately has more touches and chances than the entire first half it seems like.
A good header from close is parried out for a corner, and then another corner won and cleared. Much much better already.

Halftime - Everton lucky to be level here, it’s been the AFC Bournemouth game from last weekend all over again so far.

Premier League

45’ - Just three minutes added on, strange considering the amount of time spent on injuries so far.

41’ - Oh my Andre Gomes, lad needs a break like RIGHT NOW. First another poor pass kills a promising attacking move.
Then he makes a curious but crucial interception as Ings runs in on goal.. only for the ball to go straight at Jordan’s post, bounce back and Seamus Coleman hoofs it away with Pickford scrambling. Whew!

34’ - Saints come close again! Nathan Redmond runs onto a wonderful pass past Michael Keane, and his shot is beyond Pickford’s dive, brushes the far post on its way out.
Matt Targett leaves the game with an injury having fouled Lookman on that previous counter. Cedric Soares on now.

29’ - Everton with a fast break led by Lookman and Richarlison loses the ball after running two-thirds the pitch with it. The Blues were 4-on-3 on that counter, and the Brazilian really needed to look up and find his teammates there.

26’ - Pickford again! A poor giveaway right in the middle from Andre Gomes ends up with Danny Ings getting a clear shot from the top of the box, and the goalie saves well.
We talked about this in the podcast too, but Gomes really needs a break. He looks exhausted and is making some critical mistakes.

24’ - Questions need to be asked of Marco Silva why the Blues need the first twenty minutes of every game to wake up and show up!

20’ - Chance! A nice little interchange of passes between five players sees Bernard tee up Ademola Lookman for a shot just inside the box, blocked for a corner.
Once Everton wake up they are actually capable of playing very decent football.

15’ - Pickford with a great save to keep the game even! Danny Ings got a good header on goal from a corner (of course), and the #1 parries it away with his left hand.

10’ - Southampton’s 3-5-1-1 is consistently controlling the midfield now, and the added width is getting around in Everton’s half.

5’ - Everton’s turn now to put pressure on the Saints, with two quick corners.

2’ - Saints gets us underway, and all the running is down the home side’s right in the early stages.

Lineups - Not entirely surprised to see Marco Silva naming an unchanged lineup - the players have had the week off and Ademola Lookman had his most complete performance last weekend.

---

Everton play Southampton for the third time this season, having beaten the Saints at Goodison Park in the Premier League before bowing out of the League Cup to the same opponents, losing on penalties.

The Blues endured a torrid December but bounced back last weekend to dispose of AFC Bournemouth, and will look to keep that run going away from home where they have not been good - the Toffees away record is only 14th best in the entire league, but the Saints have been quite awful at home too so maybe there’s something there.

Southampton under new manager Ralph Hasenhüttl were dumped out of the FA Cup in their replay against Derby County, losing on penalties after giving up a two-goal lead. They fielded a strong side for that game, and the manager conceded that he would likely have to field a weakened side against the Blues today due to fatigue.

Match Details

Date and start time: Saturday, January 18th at 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m ET / 3:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 32,505

Weather: 45°F/7°C, light rain, 65% chance of precipitation, 14 kmph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: N/A - United States; N/A - United Kingdom, TSN 5 - Canada

Radio: Everton Match Centre, TalkSport Radio World

Live stream: NBCSports.com, fuboTV, TSN GO, beIN Sports Connect, Flow Sports App, Optus Sport

Gamethread: Liveblog will be updated above from one hour before kickoff

Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Lineups

Everton

Starting XI: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne, Gueye, Gomes, Bernard, Sigurdsson, Lookman, Richarlison

Subs: Stekelenburg, Baines, Mina, Davies, Walcott, Calvert-Lewin, Tosun

Southampton

Starting XI: McCarthy, Valery, Stephens, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Targett, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Redmond, Ings

Subs: Gunn, Cedric, Ramsay, Armstrong, Slattery, Long, Gallagher

Last Meeting

The Blues beat the Saints 2-1 at Goodison Park with goals from former Saint Theo Walcott and Richarlison to grab all three points earlier this season.

Everton’s last trip to St. Mary’s was quite forgettable however. Under caretaker manager David Unsworth the Blues were spanked soundly last November 4-1, with the only positive to take away from that game being this worldie that Gylfi Sigurdsson put away. That aside, absolutely forgettable.