Back in August, there was cautious optimism at Everton’s new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium. I had to stop myself from typing out Goodison Park, there. The iconic ground that was Everton’s previous home for over 130 years. It feels odd that their new ground now sits on the banks of the River Mersey, a fairly short walk from Liverpool city centre.
With the top 4, top 6, and relegation places still very much to play for, can Everton get their act together in the last 12 games to bring European football to their swanky new ground? Let’s take a look.
Matching Pre-Season Hopes
If you’d have asked any Evertonian at the start of the season whether they would be happy with finishing in the top 10, they’d have snapped your hand off. It’s been a tumultuous decade for the Toffees, going through a raft of managers, an array of ridiculous situations, and dodging relegation by the skin of their teeth on multiple occasions.
Even with this lingering presence, David Moyes, a man welded to the club’s heritage and traditions, believed they had enough to avoid a relegation battle. With Everton currently sitting on 37 points with 12 games remaining, you’d say they’re pretty much clear of the relegation battle, despite not much separating many teams this year. Only 8 points separate Liverpool, in 6th place, and Fulham, in 12th place.
What Do The Sportsbooks Say?
The global nature of the EPL has ushered in a substantial underlying betting market that helps buoy significant interest both domestically and internationally. The rise of contemporary betting sites has made digital-only, global payment options one of the fastest-growing niches in the market, where football bettors are now using cryptocurrency and blockchain to access sportsbooks and betting markets they are familiar with.
Given that it is now a global market, we have seen tech companies and social media play a much larger role in how these markets develop. As you can see in the link below, viral posts that pair with paid sponsorships are among the best forms of modern advertising.
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To place your bets at Bovada sportsbook, you connect your crypto wallet and sign the transaction. You will then be able to withdraw and deposit your cryptocurrency directly with the site. This new way of betting cuts out the middleman, no bank, no excessive fees, and no waiting weeks for a withdrawal. The markets are the same; it’s just the method of currency that has changed.
With all this in mind, this means that outright markets are some of the most volatile in the EPL over the course of the season, given that they are open for so long and rely on so many different variables.
Everton have gone from 100/1 to 25/1, which are still pretty huge odds. Their loss to Bournemouth at home was a golden opportunity to close the gap and close these odds, but in true Everton fashion, they put in a disastrous performance at home once again, drawing criticism from their captain.
Crunching The Stats
25/1 seems fair at the moment for Everton to crack the top 6. The truth is, they’re just too inconsistent; they’ve gone from early December to mid-February without winning a home game in the EPL. It’s next to impossible for a team with such abysmal home form to crack the top half of the table, usually, never mind qualify for Europe.
A season-ending injury has compounded their awful home form: loan star Jack Grealish broke his foot, a huge blow for The Toffees. They’ve got a number of big home games coming up, including Liverpool and Manchester United, as well as an away trip to the Emirates, which, given the way Everton have been this season, they could end up picking up a point.
Currently, Man Utd and Liverpool are displaying the form you would expect for teams in the top 6; Chelsea is sniffing around too. Everton simply doesn’t have the funds to compete with these teams. Liverpool, despite their claims that they are thrifty net spenders, spent close to half a billion pounds in the summer to retain their title, the most any one club has spent in a single transfer window, only for their title challenge to evaporate by Christmas.
Unfortunately for Everton, though, their rivals are likely to finish above them, and the cluster of teams around them, including Bournemouth, Brentford, and Newcastle, could all pip them to the top 6.
European Football At The Hill Dickinson?
David Moyes is building a solid squad once again, and if Everton had a striker who could score goals, they may be in the conversation for the top 4, never mind the top 6. Their main striker has scored as many goals as two midfielders, and their second-choice striker, Beto, has as many goals this season as central defender Michael Keane.
If they get this issue sorted, keep Grealish on a permanent, and add a striker who can actually find the net once every couple of games. This question could pan out very differently next season, but as for this season, it’s highly unlikely Everton will finish in the top 6.
