Everton fans will be pleasantly surprised to hear the scoreline that former Liverpool man Jamie Carragher predicted for the clash against Nottingham Forest.
The Blues secured a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day after Jordan Pickford heroically saved Erling Haaland’s penalty following Vitali Mykolenko’s foul on Savinho.
Everton have now recorded three consecutive draws against the Premier League’s top six in an effort to create daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, but sit only three points clear, albeit with a game in hand.
However, Sky Sports pundit Carragher predicted the Toffees to continue the trend with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park in his Premier League predictions for Sky Sports’ Super 6 [27 December].
Given Forest have won four games in a row and are third in the table, it is also a prediction that is slightly surprising.
Everton and Sean Dyche have momentum ahead of Nottingham Forest
The Friedkin Group will be all too pleased to see Dyche walk away from fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City with three points on the board.
Dyche is “making a good case” to remain the Everton boss beyond the current campaign as the cogs finally begin to click at Goodison Park and the defensive resilience restored to his team.
Jarrad Branthwaite has remained a key figure in helping the Blues shore up the backline – the clean sheet against Chelsea was the seventh since the start of October, a feat no side in Europe’s top five leagues can better.
While Nottingham Forest have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season and will be brimming with confidence after the 1-0 win against Tottenham on Boxing Day moved them up to third, Dyche will fancy his chances with a packed Goodison Park on side.
The Blues have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net for most of the season and missed two crucial chances against Arsenal and Manchester City via Jack Harrison to turn two points into six, but the atmosphere in the blue half of Merseyside has never been higher.
Nottingham Forest will have to find a way to breach the Everton defence, something that teams have struggled to achieve as of late, and Dyche could send a perfect statement of intent to TFG with a resounding victory to round off 2024.
