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Everton finish 12th, lowest position since the 2003-04 season. More to follow.

Fulltime Thoughts - Everton have lost to the more motivated side here, and it’s really no surprise. The Toffees have mostly been spineless this season and today showed it again.

90+4’ - There’s the final whistle and the 2019-20 season is mercifully finally over.

90+2’ - Game is still on, and we’re still here. That’s all there is to say.

90’ - Rico corner is cleared, and honestly no one cares with all eyes on results elsewhere. There will be four minutes added on.

86’ - Villa have scored and lead West Ham, which means Bournemouth are going down no matter what. Wait! West Ham have equalized, so there is still life for the Cherries.

Richarlison has a shot blocked and it goes out for a corner which is wasted.

79’ - Bournemouth make a quick break and Keane forced to bring down Wilson outside the box on the Everton left, gets a yellow card.
Rico curls it in and it’s cleared.. fall to Stanislas who wards off Gordon.. toepokes it towards Pickford and the goalie is abysmal.. allowing the ball to squirm under him. Oof, brutal from the goalie. 3-1 to Bournemouth, and they could still go down if West Ham United don’t beat Aston Villa.

76’ - Magnificent last ditch tackle from Baines on Wilson to prevent a sure goal! Making a statement even as he exits isn’t he?
Southampton winning, Everton down to 12th as it stands, worst finish since 2003-04.

70’ - More subs, and there’s Leighton Baines. <Sob>
Baines, Bernard and Calvert-Lewin are on now, with Digne, Davies and Kean off.

66’ - Saints have equalized at Sheffield United now, and that means Everton will be 12th as results stand.
Watford now down 3-2 at Arsenal, and Manchester United have a penalty, lol, what’s new. The Red Devils need a draw and Leicester need a win to join Chelsea in the Champions League spots.

63’ - Gordon gets free down the right and sends in a delicious ball into the box, past Kean and Richy loses it in his feet and the chance is gone.
Cherries making changes, Brooks and Solanke off for Billing and Stanislas, Howe looking to consolidate his midfield now.

61’ - Blues are dominating possession here, but are yet to create any clearcut chances really. Both Digne and Sidibe are pushing well forward though, so expect to see a barrage of balls into the box.

58’ - Ancelotti the first to make changes here, with Anthony Gordon and Djibril Sidibe coming on, and Walcott and Coleman making way.

47’ - Kean chases a lost cause of a ball from Gomes, his cross is headed by Richarlison and blocked for a corner. Digne curls it in but straight at the goalie.
Now more dodgy defending allows Wilson to take a potshot at goal which is saved well by Pickford.

46’ - We’re underway again.

There have been goals aplenty in the first half with ramifications on both ends of the table.

Halftime Thoughts - The Blues continue to insist on playing out from the back even though Bournemouth are poor defensively and are there for the taking with the high line. Setpieces have been Everton’s undoing both times, and the Cherries look a threat every time they win one in the Everton half.

45+3’ - That’s the half, and the Blues are down 2-1 at the break.

45+1’ - 2-1 Bournemouth. Silly freekick to give away on the right. Rico curls it into the box beautifully, and Jefferson Llerma rises highest to nod into the far corner, no chance for Pickford. Correction, goal has been given to Dominic Solanke instead, the ‘other’ Dominic.

44’ - Oh Kean! Almost made it two there. Peach of a cross from Digne, and Kean gets over it and heads down, but not enough power and Ramsdale collects.

42’ - GOAL! Coleman makes a good run, cuts in, finds Walcott out wide-ish.. he centres across the goal and Kean is unmarked for the tap-in.. 1-1!!

40’ - Now Bournemouth making forays forward again, and the Blues hold them off.

35’ - Walcott controls well and makes a break, Kean is well marked and he finds Sigurdsson instead, he shoots from distance and it’s wild and over.

33’ - Blues controlling the ball now, being patient. Ball falls to Kean with his back to goal, he feeds it wide to Walcott who crosses back in, flicked off Richarlison’s head and Ramsdale collects.
Watford are now down 3-0 at Arsenal. Bye bye.

30’ - Walcott has been brutal so far. Getting into the right spots and seeing plenty of the ball too, but just failing to beat the first man every single time.

26’ - Watford are now down by two at Arsenal, that should be the Hornets gone then. Good riddance.

22’ - Bournemouth are pressing high and Everton are struggling to get the ball out of their own half, but when they do, they have had some quality chances.
First drinks break already, its been breathless!

18’ - Now Richarlison has a chance to make amends after Kean does well to find him, but it’s blocked.
Walcott almost scores! Kean finds him now on the right, and all Theo had to do was beat Ramsdale and he fluffs it.

16’ - Now Bournemouth come again, and win a corner off Coleman on the Blues’ right. Keane clears, and it’s another corner for Rico to swing away from Pickford.
Taken short, and ball eventually into the box, and this one definitely goes off Digne’s arm! It was very close range and he really had nowhere else to go with his arm. VAR concurs, no penalty.

12’ - AFCB win a freekick in a dangerous position, David Brooks’s shot goes off the wall, and in the melee the ball bounces around and off Richarlison’s shoulder (?) and Chris Kavanagh has given a penalty!
VAR reviews and the decision stands, it’s a penalty. Josh King will take.. just sneaks by Pickford who dived to his left. Cherries lead 1-0. That’s two of three things now going right for them.

10’ - Pickford! Callum Wilson finds space between Jarrad Branthwaite and Lucas Digne and fires a shot that Jordan Pickford parries away with one hand, he was quick off his line.

News is that Arsenal lead Watford early, so one of the three things the Cherries need to happen today is going well.

7’ - A shot on goal by Coleman for the Blues with Sigurdsson pulling the strings in the AM position. Both sides attacking aggressively, this should be some end-to-end football.

5’ - All Cherries early on. An attacking lineup with three forwards, they are swarming forward, early throw in and corner but cleared somewhat well by the Blues.

1’ - Bournemouth desperately need the win here today and then results elsewhere to go their way too.

So Ancelotti has made just the two changes - Moise Kean starts for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Seamus Coleman returns for Djibril Sidibe. No start for Leighton Baines though!

Preview

So here we are yet again, playing an inconsequential dead rubber game (for Everton anyway) with another miserable season behind us and nothing but hope for the campaign ahead.

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant a much-later end of the season than normal, and with the next season coming up in seven weeks, there should be a quick summer ahead of us. But before that remains the matter of the 2019-20 finale at Goodison when AFC Bournemouth come to visit fighting for their Premier League survival.

Under Carlo Ancelotti there has been some improvement, lest we forget the Blues were wallowing in 18th place at one point under Marco Silva not that long ago. The veteran Italian manager has quite a task on his hands though if he is to turn this outfit into European contenders. Director of Football Marcel Brands has an equally key role as he looks to offload some of Everton’s bloated squad in the transfer window that opens tomorrow while adding some essential pieces to bolster Ancelotti’s options.

Speaking of options, this is Ancelotti’s last chance to give some players a run out before deciding whether their futures lie elsewhere from Goodison Park. Also, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Leighton Baines here. The leftback has yet to confirm that he will be accepting a one-year extension next season, and today could be the last time we see him in the royal blue shirt.

Eddie Howe is an Everton fan and was mentioned in some circles as an option to take over after Silva was sacked, but the Blues will be relieved that the move for hims was not made considering the trouble Bournemouth find themselves in now. For the Cherries, the ideal result today will be a win coupled with losses for Watford FC and Aston Villa, which will see those two clubs join Norwich City for the drop.

Match Details

Competition: Premier League Matchday 38

Date and start time: Sunday, July 27th at 8:00 a.m. PT / 11:00 a.m ET / 4:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 39,572

Weather: 64°F/18°C, mostly cloudy, 21% chance of precipitation, 14 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: CNBC - United States; Sky Sports Golf - United Kingdom; DAZN - Canada, beIN Sports HD 7, SuperSport 12 Africa, RMC Sport en direct

Radio: evertontv

Live stream: NBC Sports App, SKY GO Extra, ESPN Play Sur, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

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Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Lineups

Everton

Starting XI: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Branthwaite, Digne, Walcott, Gomes, Davies, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Kean

Subs: Stekelenburg, Virginia, Baines, Calvert-Lewin, Sidibe, Bernard, Baningime, Gordon, Simms

Bournemouth

Starting XI: Ramsdale, Smith, S. Cook, Kelly, Rico, Brooks, Gosling, Lerma, King, C. Wilson, Solanke

Subs: Boruc, Stacey, Ake, L. Cook, Billing, Danjuma, H. Wilson, Stanislas, Surridge

Ref: Chris Kavanagh VAR: Graham Scott

Last Meeting

The Cherries would already have been relegated were it not for the 3-1 win over Everton earlier this season at the Vitality Stadium in September, a loss that heaped the pressure upon Silva.

The Blues had beaten Bournemouth 2-0 the last time they visited Goodison, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be fancying his chances of nabbing a goal should he play having scored against Howe’s men in two consecutive games now.