Everton and Salford City meet in the second round of the English League Cup, on Goodison Park, on Wednesday evening, at 20:15. Everton comes after a great victory at the start of the championship, score 1-0 on Tottenham’s field, after the goal scored by Dominic Calvert-Lewis. Obviously, Carlo Ancelotti’s team is a big favorite in front of the Manchester club.
Without Delph, Gbamin, Holgate and Tosun, Everton should not have emotions in front of a much weaker opponent. Valuably speaking, there is a big “gap” between the two clubs, because Salford is evolving at the level of the fourth league. In the first round of the championship, Salford drew at home with Exeter, score 2-2, and has low hopes to surprise Everton, a team in excellent shape.
The white-blues come after an impressive acquisition campaign, and the good performances from the summer friendlies were not accidental. Against Spurs, Everton “grabbed” the middle of the field and won without much emotion, given that Jose Mourinho’s team failed to get dangerously close to the opponent’s box for one half. Obviously, morale is high at Everton.
After a lightning debut, with excellent numbers, James Rodriguez could be rested on Wednesday night, when Ancelotti is expected to make changes in the starting “11”. Even so, Everton should not have emotions with Salford and the statistics show that the white-blues are very serious when it comes to the English League Cup matches. The “candies” have not lost in the last 18 duels against the fourth league teams, while Salford is at the first duel in history with a Premier League team! Graham Alexander’s team will try to defend themselves, but the quality of the people in Everton’s attack will make a difference.
PREDICTION: 1/1 HT/FT to win @ 1,70
