Everton V Hull City
Football : England : Premier League
Sunday 7th March 2010 – Kickoff 4pm

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It’s been a rare stinker of a week for David Moyes and his side, as they were brought crashing down to earth by Tottenham, after crashing out of Europe.

Will Hull City provide the perfect remedy, or will Phil Brown’s side come pick at the pieces of an Everton side still reeling from their recent defeats?

Everton

This isn’t a feeling Everton will be familiar with of late. They boasted heroic wins over both Chelsea and Manchester, coming from behind in both games to thrill their home fans and seriously stake their claim for a place in Europe next season.

But, Everton have been on a blip in the last 10 days, losing 2-1 at Tottenham at the weekend, a reult which followed on from the trip to Sporting Lisbon, where Everton lost 0-3 and were were dumped out of the Europa League. Confidence and morale are both clearly low, and Moyes must now work his magic once again to get the scousers firing in time for Hull.

Everton could have come away with a point at Spurs, despite being 2-0 down at HT. Moyes must certainly have said the right things at the break, because Everton were clearly the better side for the last 45 minutes. Yakubu got one back and it took the miss of the season from Donovan to allow Spurs to escape with the three points. Everton might not have won, but at least they showed they’re not playing poorly enough to avoid being backed here.

The home form has been stellar, with Everton currently on a 7 match unbeaten streak at Goodison. They also have a great chance of making it 6 consecutive home wins against a Hull side that is nothing short of dire on their travels.

Hull City

The Tigers lie 18th and are in a dogfight with Wolves, Burnley and Wigan to avoid joining Portsmouth in the Championship. The only thing going for them is the chance that Everton might still be licking their wounds after their European exit, but that isn’t an outcome I would advise anyone to bet on.

Hull’s away record is the kind of mess you would normally find on a used sheet of Andrex, so expect them to fall to their 15th away loss here against a team that will be eager to get back to business. The last time Hull won away was last March, at Fulham. They have now won just 5 times in their last 33 away games and what’s worse is the mere 7 goals they have scored away from home this season, a Premier League worst. Hull have also been shutout in their last 4 away games

The reverse fixture ended 2-0 to Everton, and a similar scoreline here looks likely. Hull would do well just to get on the scoresheet, and perhaps a bet on them being shut out again would be profitable.

The Betting Verdict

This really does look like a banker for me, Everton will surely put their troubles behind them and bombard the Hull City defence to get over their recent heartaches.

Take the home win at what I feel is a fair price.

The Statistics :

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Everton to win @ 1.40 (Bet365)

Also consider Everton to win to nil at 2.40 (PaddyPower)