Live Blog

Fulltime Thoughts - My fingers hurt from gnawing on my nails and clenching my fists for the entire 89 minutes after we scored, but a defensive masterclass from Sean Dyche ensures the Blues get all three points against the Bees today.

90+5’ - BRILLIANT FROM THE BLUES AS THEY COMPLETE THE REARGUARD ACTION TO WIN AT HOME AGAINST THE PREVIOUSLY UNBEATEN (since October) BRENTFORD.
Simon Hooper’s final whistle comes as a huge relief to Goodison Park, three points for the Blues, onward and upward!!

90+4’ - Coleman comes across and wins a foul as he blocks off a Bees forward running onto a long ball.

90+2’ - Corner to the Bees. Goalie David Raya is up there, it comes to him but his header flashes well wide! That’s not a common sight.

90’ - Five minutes added on.

88’ - It’s all bodies on the line here as the blue shirts are throwing themselves at everything.

87’ - Neal Maupay on for Gray now.
A brilliant recovering tackle from McNeil but Hooper calls for a foul to Goodison’s very vocal outrage.

85’ - First Gray and now Davies win fouls holding up the ball. Gritty stuff.

80’ - Tom Davies on for Onana now.

76’ - Henry beats Coleman and his cross is perfect for Schade who somehow heads it just wide.
Another cross almost to Schade, and then he does get the ball but a last ditch tackle from Godfrey saves the Blues. Full on siege here at Goodison.

74’ - Two more changes for a total of four by Thomas Frank, still nothing from Sean Dyche.
Gray holding the line upfront as the 4-5-1 has compacted tightly inside the parked bus.

69’ - Toney buys a cheap freekick (as he often does) off Tarkowski and gets the call on the edge of the box. Striker clearly initiates contact and goes over the defender’s not outstretched foot.
Toney takes it, off the wall for a corner. Pickford misses the ball completely! MCNEIL HOOFS IT CLEAR OFF THE LINE! Goodness.

68’ - No sign of a sub on the Everton bench, as we enter the final quarter of the game.
Brentford were overloading the Everton right, but now are focusing on the left.

64’ - Things sparking up here between Doucoure and Hickey who was grabbing the Everton player’s shirt. The Malian midfielder is incensed, and both teams are getting in there now.

60’ - McNeil wins a corner on the left, Gray to take. Cleared and now the Bees can break at speed. The Blues do well to frustrate them enough but the visitors have a corner now. To the near post and the flick on goes over. Brentford are going at the Blues hard.

59’ - First chance for the Blues in a long time as Gray does well to pull down a high ball and takes a shot from a narrow angle, straight at Raya though.

51’ - Brilliant intervention by Coleman as Brentford counter at pace. The corner is eventually scrambled away.
Everton have a chance to counter and Iwobi caught on the ball. The Blues are defending desperately and it’s way too early to go into turtle mode.

48’ - Another chance for the Blues as a ball into the box is headed over.

47’ - SAVE! Brentford break well, and a cross into the box is met by Henry and what a save from Pickford and the defence can scramble it away.

46’ - Second half underway.

Halftime Thoughts - That was a very good half of football from the Blues, with the only blemish being how they have not managed to score a second

45+2’ - We’re past the two minute mark, and Onana is still down from the corner. Looks like he took a header to his left eye, it’s swollen pretty badly but he’s up and moving.
There’s the halftime whistle finally.

45+1’ - Norgaard booked for bringing down Gray on a break. Gray takes it, off the wall and a corner from the right. Good ball in and the visitors clear.

43’ - GOAL! Toney and Keane had a coming together in the centre circle and the ref Simon Hooper rules in favour of the Blues. Pickford’s deep kick, headed back across the goal by Tarkowski, hoofed clear and it goes in off Gray!
Oh no! VAR rules that it came off his right arm. It was very close and what is often called a bang-bang play, but the Blues have reason to be frustrated because they have had so many opportunities to make it two in the first half and it’s just not happening.

37’ - Gana and Onana combine to steal the ball and go on a break, but an overhit ball from McNeil ends that opportunity.

33’ - Onana’s challenge allows Gueye to break, delightful ball finds Gray in space, cuts in, shot saves by Raya with his feet for a corner! McNeil’s corner is delightful, ball bounces in the box, Iwobi tries to turn it home and Raya kicks it away again!! Argh!!!

31’ - Despite Goodison roaring at him about the threat, Gana dawdles again on the ball and Toney can steal the ball away and dangerous cross for the Bees cleared away by Keane.

27’ - With a high press comes a high line and therein lies the danger for the Blues as Toney and Mbeumo have plenty of pace and physicality.
The press does win the Blues a corner on the right now, and McNeil will take it. Inswinger, partly cleared and Godfrey wins a freekick from the opposite flank. McNeil to take, into the deep and the chance is wasted.

24’ - Brentford with a good crossfield ball from Rico Henry finds Mbeumo, cuts in and fires off a shot at Pickford, who collects at the second attempt.
Norgaard with a very good cross into the box, Toney pushes Keane away to make space and gets his head to it, but not enough contact and Everton survive.

22’ - Bees’ long-throw wins a corner on the Everton right. Jensen inswinger, Tarkowski clears partly, and then Gray boxes off Hickey for a goalkick.
The Blues at the quarter pole, having navigated this game well until this point.

20’ - Everton’s press wins the ball again via Coleman this time, finds Iwobi and his cross into the box is parried poorly by Raya, and Onana following up hits it wide! Oh what a chance, the off-balance midfielder had more time than he thought and should have put it in.

17’ - Another soft freekick won by the Bees, off McNeil this time. Jensen goes for the deep freekick but Coleman is well aware of it and has it covered.

15’ - Gray wins a freekick in the middle third. He puts it into the box, Keane gets to it before a stranded Raya and somehow he puts too much mustard on it and sends it wide, arghhhhh.

13’ - Everton’s high press forces a couple of rushed clearances and eventually a corner on the left. Gray to take, right into the six yard box and cleared.

10’ - Toney wins a cheap freekick off Onana, and now they have a corner on the Blues’ left. Taken short, played around and then eventually wasted by the Bees.

8’ - Everton freekick into the box from McNeil, headed back across goal and Toney coolly heads it back to his goalie Raya.

6’ - The players, the crowd, everyone needed this early boost.

3’ - Blues counter again as Goodison is LOUD right now. Godfrey’s long, loping run down the left is not matched by the delivery of his cross.

1’ - We have kicked off at Goodison, where Everton find themselves down a spot to 19th after AFC Bournemouth surprisingly beat the Blues’ crosstown rivals Liverpool earlier today.
OH MY GOD EVERTON LEAD!!!! Coleman’s long ball down the right finds Gray, who squares for Doucoure, and the midfielder finds McNeil running into the box, cuts back and hammers it into the far corner with his magical left foot, Everton lead 1-0!!

England manager Gareth Southgate is present today, having picked an utterly miserable day weather-wise to come up to Merseyside. The rain is coming down hard and it might even change to snow at some point.

Starting Lineups: Dominic Calvert-Lewin still not fit enough to be in the matchday squad, Sean Dyche has chosen to go with the same starting lineup as last weekend with Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey at centrehalf and left back respectively, while Demarai Gray leads the line up top.

Lineups

Everton

Brentford

Preview

Everton take on Brentford at what can be considered the two-thirds mark of the Premier League season done, and just a dozen games left to play with survival still far from secured.

Sean Dyche’s men let slip a lead away at Nottingham Forest not once but twice and though they left with a point, a golden chance to rack up an away win frittered away by the same errors that have plagued the Blues for two seasons now.

Today’s visitors are going through a purple patch, unbeaten in league action since October and aspiring for European football at the end of the season, but are certainly beatable when they are not in the comfortable confines of the Gtech Community Stadium.

The biggest question here is going to be whether Sean Dyche can summon up the side capable of putting together the focused effort that came to the fore in the recent 1-0 win against Arsenal, or will it be the same players going to pieces in the more recent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the same Gunners?

Match Details

Competition: Premier League Matchday 27

Date and start time: Saturday, March 11th at 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m ET / 3:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 39,572

Weather: 41°F/5°C, light rain, 83% chance of precipitation, 13 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: Peacock - United States; N/A - United Kingdom; Fubo - Canada, beIN Sports Premium 3

Radio: evertontv, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Sport 5 Live, SiriusXM FC

Live stream: Fubo, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH, Hotstar VIP, JioTV, SuperSport Football Plus ROA

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

*Royal Blue Mersey has affiliate partnerships and may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links provided.

Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Last Meeting

The Blues miraculously picked up a point in the fixture earlier this season as Brentford contrived to hit the woodwork thrice in a game before finally scoring a late equalizer from a goalmouth melee in a 1-1 draw.

It wasn’t good for the Toffees last season however, as the Bees scored the double over them, winning 3-2 at Goodison Park despite both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison finding the net.