Ten-man Brentford held Everton to a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park for their first away point in the Premier League this season.

A red card to Christian Norgaard meant the visitors played the whole duration of the second half with a numerical disadvantage, but they kept Everton in check for a well-deserved point.

Mark Flekken was on top form to twice deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin before the break, though Yoane Wissa squandered a great chance for Brentford prior to Norgaard’s dismissal for a challenge on Jordan Pickford.

Yet Sean Dyche’s team, who have struggled for goals all season, failed to make their advantage count after the break, with a long-range strike from Idrissa Gueye and a handful of opportunities for substitute Beto the closest they came to breaking the deadlock.

Everton sit 15th with 11 points from 12 matches, while Brentford moved at least temporarily, into 10th.

The Toffees have a tough December coming up, starting with a trip to Ruben Amorim's Manchester United, while Brentford face Leicester City in their next outing.

Iliman Ndiaye feels privileged to be part of the final Everton squad to play at Goodison Park, as the Toffees prepare to resume their Premier League campaign at home to Brentford.

Everton will leave Goodison for their new 52,000-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock at the end of the 2024-25 season.

A run of one defeat in seven matches (two wins, four draws) has boosted the Toffees' hopes of surviving the current campaign in the top flight, and Ndiaye – a pre-season arrival from Marseille – says being part of club history was a key attraction when he joined.

"Obviously, I wanted to be part of that history of playing in the last-ever season at Goodison Park," Ndiaye told the club's website.

"So many things have happened here, it's full of history and we are the last players to represent this club here, so it's important we give everything we have.

"Then, the new stadium that is coming, I think that excites everyone. It's seriously impressive. 

"The players who have been here for a long time and the players who have just arrived, I know we are all ready to give more than 100% to have the best season possible and go into the new stadium in a good place."

Brentford are six points clear of Everton in 11th, just three points adrift of Manchester City in third, though all their 16 points have been won on home turf.

Sepp van den Berg has played in nine of their 11 Premier League games this term after arriving from Liverpool, and the defender has heaped praise upon Thomas Frank for making him feel welcome.

"For me, Brentford was one of the first clubs interested and, as well as getting the chance to play in the Premier League and live in London, it was speaking with Thomas Frank," he said.

"The first meeting we had, he was asking me some straight questions: 'Why do you want to play for Brentford? Why do we need you at Brentford?' It was so direct, it was like a proper job interview!

"Of course, the football part has to be right as well – and it was. But Thomas just made me feel like I was really wanted here."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Everton – Jarrad Branthwaite 

Since the start of last season, Everton have a win percentage of 35% and have earned 1.3 points per game in the Premier League when Branthwaite starts, compared to a 17% win percentage and 0.8 points-per-game without him in their starting XI. 

Indeed, the Toffees have lost just one of the last eight league games in which he has started (five wins, two draws). The England international made his first start since August last time out in their goalless at West Ham, which was a massive boost for Dyche.

Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo 

Only Mohamed Salah (14), Erling Haaland (12), Cole Palmer (12) and Bukayo Saka (10) have been directly involved in more Premier League goals this season than Mbeumo (nine – eight goals, one assist).

He has, though, played more minutes without a goal involvement in the competition against Everton than any other side (528 – 13 shots, five chances created). He will be determined to set that record straight at Goodison Park.

MATCH PREDICTION – EVERTON WIN

This match should offer an interesting clash of styles. Only Crystal Palace (0.089) average a lower xG per shot figure than Everton (0.093) in the Premier League this season, while Brentford are the side with the highest xG per shot in 2024-25 (0.149).

The Bees have seen 44 goals scored across their 11 Premier League games so far this season (22 for, 22 against), the most of any side. 

Indeed, only Newcastle United in 1999-00 and Arsenal in 2011-12 have both scored and conceded 20+ goals in fewer games from the start of a campaign in the competition (10).

Brentford have, however, lost all five of their Premier League away games this season; only in 1924-25 and 1961-62 (both nine) have they ever lost each of their opening six or more away matches of a league campaign.

Everton have lost only two of their last 10 Premier League games at Goodison Park (six wins, two draws), while they also have three straight wins against Brentford in the competition, after failing to win any of their first three against them (one draw, two defeats).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY 

Everton – 40.5%

Brentford – 32.5%

Draw – 26.9%

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said he always works under pressure as the Hammers' inconsistent form continued with a goalless draw against Everton.

Reports earlier this week suggested Lopetegui was hanging on by a thread at West Ham, with the Hammers having made a poor start to their Premier League campaign.

A flat performance for large parts on Saturday failed to offer the response West Ham fans will have wanted to see from their side following last week's loss to Nottingham Forest.

The Hammers did, though, create the biggest chances during an improved second-half display, with Crysencio Summerville hitting the post and Jordan Pickford making a brilliant save to deny Danny Ings late on.

West Ham faced some boos from their supporters at half-time, while there was a spattering of jeers at full-time at London Stadium, but Lopetegui claimed the pressure is not telling.

"It's normal that the fans were not happy. We’re not happy with 12 points," he said.

"At the same time, other teams who look fantastic, only have three or four more points than us. We can do better, we're not happy, but we can take positives. We want more, we are not happy, we will work 24/7 to achieve this.

"Sometimes it's about the intensity, and to have the personality to do things. I think we have to improve in this. The players need to say 'Here I am and we are going to do this'.

"I always work under pressure, this is not new. I'm very happy with the players, with the club. We are not happy with our position but we are sure we are going to be able to finish higher in May – a lot of things can change.

"We are doing good things, but not enough of them to be consistent."

Everton got back on track after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Southampton last week. The Toffees could have scored through Abdoulaye Doucoure, while Jesper Lindstrom saw a header kept out by Lukasz Fabianski.

Sean Dyche said: "It's a good point, a good clean sheet. A solid performance.

"We obviously couldn't find that bit of edge in the attacking third and the bit of devil that is sometimes the difference, but a solid feel to the performance.

"We didn't really give much up, away from home in the Premier League, that’s difficult. In the end, we come away wondering if that’s one we could have won, but equally, Jordan makes a fantastic save."

Jordan Pickford made a stunning save deep into stoppage time as West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at London Stadium.

Julen Lopetegui is seemingly under increasing pressure at West Ham, and though the hosts created the better chances in the end, it was a largely flat performance on Saturday.

Substitute Danny Ings, who had tested Pickford in the 87th minute, thought he had won it in the 93rd with a deflected attempt, but Everton’s goalkeeper produced a fine fingertip stop.

Pickford had been beaten earlier in the second half when Crysencio Summerville struck the post, after Jesper Lindstrom had seen a header kept out by Lukasz Fabianski at the other end.

The stalemate leaves West Ham in 14th in the Premier League, two places above Everton, heading into the international break.

Data Debrief: Shot stoppers steal the show

In a game that lacked quality from either side during the contest, a draw was perhaps a fair result and can be used as a positive heading into the international break. 

While Everton registered 18 shots compared to West Ham's 11, the Toffees had to rely on Pickford on several occasions to take a point back to Goodison Park. 

Pickford made six saves for Everton, but Fabianski, at the other end, was also on form. He produced four stops as both goalkeepers played pivotal roles in earning their team a valuable point.

Jesper Lindstrom delivered a blunt assessment of Everton's performance against Southampton, as Sean Dyche's team prepare for a crunch fixture against West Ham.

Everton suffered a 1-0 loss at Southampton on Saturday, as the Saints claimed their first Premier League win of the season.

That defeat snapped a five-game unbeaten run in the league, albeit Everton are still only on nine points after 10 games.

Saturday's trip to West Ham, whose coach Julen Lopetegui is under pressure after a poor run of form, represents a big game for both clubs.

And Lindstrom, who joined Everton on loan from Napoli in July, said there are few excuses for the Toffees.

"We want to win games, we want to win points, we want to win games like this. It's not good enough," he said, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

"Overall we have to demand more of each other. We have to train hard, we have to keep going.

"The first half especially was not good enough, was not what we expected. We are a much better team than we showed.

"The second half was better we were running more, fighting more, creating chances. I think we deserved at least a point with all the chances but on the other hand I don't think we deserved it because I know we can play much better than we did.

"In the first half, we were too far from each other. From my perspective, my touches were not great.

"It was better in the second half. We created good chances of receiving the ball high but didn’t have the last part, the shot."

West Ham lost 3-0 to in-form Nottingham Forest last time out.

After that match, Jarrod Bowen told Premier League Productions: "We've been on the receiving end of a lot of defeats by a lot of goals, so we need to look at ourselves as players. I think that's a given, but I think we've got to accept this feeling, accept it today, move on and in the last game before the international break we have to put it right."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Ham - Jarrod Bowen

Bowen has scored in his last two Premier League home games for West Ham, last scoring in three in a row at the London Stadium in February 2022.

The England forward has also had a hand in five goals in his last six league games against Everton (three goals, two assists).

Everton - Dominic Calvert-Lewin

All three of Calvert-Lewin’s Premier League goals against West Ham have come at the London Stadium, with the last two coming in 1-0 wins for Everton.

Only against Newcastle United (five) has he scored more away goals in the competition than he has at West Ham.

MATCH PREDICTION: WEST HAM WIN

West Ham have conceded 15 goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games so far in 2024, the most such goals any side have conceded in a single calendar year in the competition. Five of those have come so far this season, a joint-league high, along with Ipswich Town.

However, having lost their first three Premier League home games this season, West Ham have now won their last two at London Stadium. They last won three in a row in May/August 2023, while they last did so in the same campaign in October 2022.

Everton, meanwhile, have lost their last three Premier League away games against London sides by an aggregate score of 12-1. They last lost four in a row in the capital between January and September 2018.

West Ham have won five of their last eight Premier League games against Everton (L3), as many as they had in their previous 30 against them (D9 L16).

However, the Toffees - who won the corresponding fixture 1-0 last season - have taken more Premier League games in total (29) and away from home (13) against West Ham than they have against any other opponent.

Dyche's team have lost their first four Premier League games this season, conceding 13 goals in the process. However, they have lost just one of their subsequent six (W2 D3), with their four goals conceded the fewest of any side in that time.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

West Ham - 50.2%

Everton - 24.6%

Draw - 25.2%

We are now 10 games into the Premier League season and the table is beginning to take shape, but that does not mean there is no room for an upset or two.

On Saturday, both Manchester City and Arsenal fell to surprise defeats at Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively. 

It was only the third time since the start of 2017-18 that both of the previous season's top two teams had lost on the same day in the Premier League, after March 7, 2021 and January 14, 2023.

Pep Guardiola's champions could have few complaints about the result at the Vitality Stadium, where Andoni Iraola's Cherries won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.04 to 1.56.

But which other games featured a lucky winner or an unlucky loser? We delve into the Opta data to find out.

Unlucky losers: Arsenal

The weekend's action began with Arsenal travelling to St James' Park to face Newcastle, with Mikel Arteta's side chasing a victory to move within a point of leaders Liverpool.

However, they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat as Alexander Isak's early goal proved enough for Newcastle to make it three wins in their last four home league games against Arsenal (one loss).

The Gunners could count themselves unlucky to come away from Tyneside with nothing, however, after limiting Newcastle to a measly 0.53 xG – 0.25 of which came from the chance for Isak's goal.

Only West Ham, who played half of their defeat to Nottingham Forest with 10 men, created a lower figure across the nine games to take place this weekend, with 0.13 xG.

Arsenal were far from their free-flowing best, though, only recording 10 attempts worth 1.05 xG themselves. They have averaged just 7.4 shots per game in their away Premier League matches this season, with only Brentford (7.5) taking fewer.

Lucky winners: Southampton 

Just two teams – Wolves and Ipswich Town – remain without a victory in the Premier League after Southampton finally got off the mark by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.

Russell Martin's team accumulated just 0.74 xG to Everton's 1.56, but Adam Armstrong's strike five minutes from time handed them a huge three points in their fight for safety.

While Beto, who headed against the crossbar just 25 seconds before Armstrong's winner, and Jack Harrison spurned great chances for the Toffees, Southampton were also grateful for a late VAR intervention, as the former saw a potential leveller chalked off for a marginal offside call.

It was the first time Everton had failed to score against Southampton in the Premier League since February 2022, bringing their five-match unbeaten run in the competition to a halt.

Unlucky losers: Crystal Palace

Southampton ended the weekend in 19th, above winless Wolves after they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Molineux.

Marc Guehi salvaged a draw for the Eagles, who were without star men Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze yet arguably still did enough to leave the West Midlands with all three points.

They racked up 19 shots totalling 2.51 xG to their hosts' 11, which had a total value of 1.51 xG. Palace's xG figure was the highest in the Premier League this weekend, but they were missing their shooting boots as Ismaila Sarr squandered two glorious chances when they were a goal to the good in the second half. 

With both defences struggling, this was only the second Premier League game of the season to be goalless at half-time but see both sides score at least twice in the second half, after Everton 2-3 Bournemouth in August.

There could have been a fifth goal in stoppage time, too, as Jean-Phillipe Mateta saw a potential winner disallowed for a foul on Jose Sa in the build-up. Wolves – and their under-fire head coach Gary O'Neil – arguably got away with one.

Lucky winners: Chelsea 

Sunday's late game saw Chelsea fight back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, denying Ruud van Nistelrooy a first Premier League win as the Red Devils' interim head coach.

Moises Caicedo's well-taken volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Chelsea arguably looked the more likely victors in the second half, but they only generated 1.1 xG from their 12 attempts – and just 0.29 from six after the interval.

United, meanwhile, had chances worth 1.98 xG, though Fernandes' spot-kick – with an xG value of 0.79 – was a major contributing factor.

Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho squandered decent opportunities for United, though, and incoming boss Ruben Amorim has plenty of work to do with their attackers.

United have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season – their worst record through 10 matches of any league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine).

Fans of a certain vintage will need no reminder of what happened at the end of that season – United were relegated from the First Division, their fate sealed by club legend Denis Law scoring against them with a nonchalant backheel, while representing rivals Man City.

Adam Armstrong's late goal gave Southampton their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.

Armstrong’s first league strike of the season came in the 85th minute of Saturday's tightly fought contest, while lifting the Saints off the foot of the table.

Aaron Ramsdale had earlier kept the scores level with a fine save from Michael Keane's close-range header, while substitute Beto nodded against the crossbar.

Southampton broke through five minutes from time when substitute Yukinari Sugawara's low centre was superbly swept home by Armstrong.

Everton thought they had an equaliser when Beto raced in behind and finished brilliantly beyond Ramsdale. 

However, a VAR review showed that the Brazilian had strayed offside, and the goal was overturned, to the delight of the home fans, who celebrated a Premier League victory for the first time since March 2023.

Data Debrief: Saints off the mark

Southampton finally have their first victory on the board courtesy of Armstrong's strike which, timed at 84 minutes and 33 seconds, is their latest Premier League winning goal since Charlie Austin struck six seconds later against Arsenal in December 2018.

The Saints also recorded their 14th Premier League win against Everton at home, now their outright most against a single opponent in the competition.

As for the Toffees, their five-game unbeaten league run comes to an end, and they have now lost 11 of their last 15 league games in November.

Russell Martin is hopeful his Southampton players can use their midweek EFL Cup win to provide some momentum when they take on Everton. 

The Saints have picked up just one point from their first nine games back in the Premier League ahead of Saturday's visit of Everton to St Mary's. 

All three of Southampton's wins so far this season have come in the EFL Cup, most recently beating second-tier Stoke City 3-2 on Tuesday. 

Despite only just scraping through thanks to a late winner after squandering a two-goal lead, Martin wants it to be used as a springboard to push on in the league. 

"We need to celebrate every victory as a group," Martin said. "Whether it's against a Championship team in the cup, a Premier League game, you have to enjoy those moments together. 

"The guys were a bit annoyed coming in, they didn't look very happy, so I reminded them they're allowed to smile. By the end they are smiling and the music was on. Hopefully we can carry that on on Saturday." 

Everton are eight points better off than bottom-place Southampton in 16th, having recovered from a slow start by collecting nine points across a five-game unbeaten run. 

The Toffees were far from their best in last weekend's clash with Fulham at Goodison Park, but Beto came off the substitutes’ bench to rescue a last-gasp 1-1 draw. 

And that spirit to fight until the end is something manager Sean Dyche wants to see more of from his side as they prepare for their trip to England's South Coast. 

"I thought we were short of where we have been against Fulham," he said. "On the other hand, the balance of football is it lasts for 90-plus minutes. I have asked the players for relentlessness and I thought that was on show. 

"We weren't playing our best, but we found a way to get something from the game. Over a season, it is important to keep getting something from games in the Premier League." 

PLAYERS TO WATCH  

Southampton - Jan Bednarek  

Bednarek has started all nine of Southampton's games in the Premier League this season and also started the midweek cup win over Stoke. 

While he boasts the second-most completed passes (691) of all players in the division this season, he is currently on the longest run of starts without winning a game (22) since Jonny Evans between April 2017 and January 2018 (28 games). 

Everton - Ashley Young 

Young has managed to prove his doubters wrong with recent performances, which includes three assists in his past five Premier League appearances - as many as he had across his previous 124. 

The full-back is one of three players to have assisted as many as three goals after turning 39 years of age, along with Teddy Sherringham and Ryan Giggs. 

MATCH PREDICTION - DRAW 

Southampton are without a win in their past 22 Premier League matches - only Derby County (32) and Sunderland (26) have even endured longer runs. 

Should the Saints lose this weekend, they will equal Sheffield United's unwanted record for the fewest points (one) after the first 10 games of a Premier League season. 

Everton, meanwhile, are five league games without defeat after losing their previous five, making this their best-such run since between August and October 2022 under Frank Lampard (six games). 

The Toffees have lost five of their last seven top-flight games away at Southampton, though, albeit the most recent such trip ended in a 2-1 win in October 2022. 

One further glimmer of hope for Southampton is that they have won 13 Premier League home games against Everton - against no side have they won more often on home soil (also 13 wins versus Newcastle United). 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY 

Southampton - 37.5% 

Everton - 36.2% 

Draw - 26.3%

Everton showed an "endless desire" in their draw against Fulham that pleased Sean Dyche, though Marco Silva bemoaned an "unfair" draw at Goodison Park.

Former Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi put Fulham, managed by ex-Toffees boss Silva, on course for victory in the Premier League on Saturday.

Yet Iwobi's neat 61st-minute finish was cancelled out when Everton substitute Beto headed home deep into added time to salvage a 1-1 draw for the hosts, who are now unbeaten in five league matches, which is their longest such run under Dyche.

Fulham had 60.3% possession and 14 shots to Everton's 10, while also mustering 1.25 expected goals (xG) to the Toffees' 0.79, though Dyche's team did have five shots on target to the visitors' three. 

Everton also had a goal disallowed after Dominic Calvert-Lewin strayed offside before tucking in the rebound from an Idrissa Gueye shot that hit the bar in the first half, albeit Fulham were largely untroubled otherwise.

Dyche knows Everton were not at their best, but was delighted with the grit that was on display to claw out a leveller.

He told Sky Sports: "The mentality is growing, you have to have that in the Premier League.

"We know we're not the real deal, but on a day when we weren't close to where I want us to be, we got a point and kept going and the mentality stayed strong to make sure we did that.

"We've had to grind, had to find a way, that’s sometimes the way the Premier League is. We didn't deserve to win, but we nicked a draw, and have that endless desire to get something from the game. I was really pleased with that side of things."

Silva, meanwhile, insisted his side deserved the points.

"The best team was Fulham, from the first minute until the last minute of the game. We controlled all the game, with the ball, in our way," he told Sky Sports.

"We had three or four clear chances in the first half, and the second half was the same story. When we scored the first, we should have killed the game. We had the chances to score and kill the game and it would have been much more difficult for them.

"They were really lucky – we should have defended it better, that moment inside the box. Our defenders should be there, to control that situation, but the result was really unfair to my players. It's clear we were the better team on the pitch."

Fulham have scored the opening goal in seven Premier League games this season.

However, Fulham have now dropped 10 points from winning positions – only Brentford (11) have lost more.

Beto’s stoppage-time equaliser secured a point for Everton as they came back to draw 1-1 against Fulham at Goodison Park.

The substitute’s intervention extended the host’s unbeaten run to five Premier League matches as Fulham were frustrated despite a dominant display.

Alex Iwobi, on his former stomping ground, put Marco Silva’s team deservedly ahead in the 61st minute.

The assistant’s offside flag had spared Fulham in the first half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin saw a goal ruled out for offside after Idrissa Gueye had struck the woodwork.

That was the closest Everton came until Beto came up with a close-range header in the 94th minute.

While Fulham sit 10th after stopping the rot following two defeats on the bounce, Everton move up to 15th on nine points.

Data Debrief: Beto proves the saviour at Goodison Park

Despite entering the field after 81 minutes, Beto offered the most of all Everton's forwards. He had the highest expected goals (xG) total from among Dyche's side (0.39).

Such was Everton's lack of attacking output until his entry, he also took the most shots among his teammates (three), only second to Raul Jimenez from both sides (four).

He scored his fourth Premier League (35th appearance), either putting his side ahead (one) or equalising (two) with three of the four.

Michael Keane believes Everton have made themselves hard to beat and is looking forward to testing that theory against Fulham in the Premier League.

The Toffees started the season with a run of four consecutive losses, but have since turned things around, going unbeaten in their last four in the top-flight.

Their 2-0 victory over struggling Ipswich Town last weekend helped move them five points clear of the relegation zone in the early standings.

And Keane is delighted with the uptick in their form as they look to extend that run at Goodison Park on Saturday.

"We've become hard to play against," Keane told evertontv.

"Obviously, against Newcastle, it wasn't our best performance but we grinded it out by doing all the ugly things really well and [last week], I think we played a lot better than we did and we got a deserved win.

"To have four games unbeaten now, it gives you that momentum and that confidence going into the next games."

Meanwhile, Fulham have suffered back-to-back losses against Manchester City and Aston Villa in recent weeks, following a five-match unbeaten streak in the league.

Marco Silva is looking to get back to winning ways against his former club and has won his last two away games against Everton in the Premier League.

However, the Cottagers went down to 10 men against Villa, having given up their lead, and Silva was left bemused by the decision that will leave him without Joachim Andersen for the trip to Merseyside.

"[Villa was] not the best performance from us," Silva said.

"But we're all confused [about the red card], we all don't understand, even for you, for fans for staff, managers and players, we're all confused because when things happen, we try to understand why and respect."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Everton – Dwight McNeil

Dwight McNeil has been involved in six goals in his last six Premier League appearances (three goals, three assists) for Everton.

He is only the third Toffees player with three goals and three assists in the opening eight games of a season, after Francis Jeffers in 1999-00 and James Rodriguez in 2020-21.

Fulham – Raul Jimenez

Raul Jimenez has scored or assisted in each of his last five Premier League appearances for Fulham (four goals, one assist).

No Cottagers player has done so in six games in a row, while only three players have scored or assisted in six in a row aged 33 or older: Gus Poyet aged 34 in 2001, Dennis Bergkamp aged 35 in 2004, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic aged 35 in 2017.

MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON WIN

Since losing their first four Premier League matches this season, Everton are unbeaten in four games (W2 D2). Only once have the Toffees gone five unbeaten under Sean Dyche, doing so in April and May this year.

And their record in October is impressive - Everton have kept six clean sheets in their last seven such Premier League games (W4 D2 L1), including both games this season. Since 2022-23, the Toffees have averaged 0.75 points per game in August and September (P20 W3 D6 L11) compared to 1.55 points per game in October (W5 D2 L4).

Since Dyche's first Premier League games in charge of Everton, only Arsenal (33) have scored more goals via set pieces (excl. pens) than the Toffees (27).

However, Everton were unbeaten in their first 27 home league games against Fulham between 1949 and 2018 (W23 D4), winning each of the last 22 of those. Since then, they have lost their last three at home to the Cottagers.

In fact, Fulham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against the Toffees (W3 D2), keeping four clean sheets in the process. All three of those wins in that run have come at Goodison Park.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Everton – 40.9%

Draw – 26.7%

Fulham – 32.4%

Everton stretched their Premier League unbeaten run to four games as Sean Dyche's side saw off Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road.

The Toffees showed little sign of rustiness after the international break, as first-half goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane set them on course for their second league victory of the season.

Fan favourite Ndiaye provided the spark on the road once again for Everton, as he netted in successive away games with a brilliant 17th-minute strike, and Keane produced a clever close-range finish to put the Toffees in control just before the break.

Matters might have been different had referee Michael Oliver, after a VAR review, not overturned his decision to award Ipswich a penalty for Dwight McNeil's challenge on Jack Clarke.

Ipswich showed signs of life after the restart, yet Conor Chaplin's scuffed effort late on was the best they could muster, with Jordan Pickford largely untroubled.

Indeed, the best chances of the second half fell to Everton, with Ndiaye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who squandered a great opportunity early on, unable to beat Arijanet Muric.

Data Debrief: Toffees end away day wait

After losing their first four league games of 2024-25, Everton are now unbeaten in their last four (W2 D2), with this their first away win in the Premier League since December 2023 (2-0 against Burnley).

Dyche's team have ended a run of 12 successive away Premier League games without a clean sheet, while home and away, the Toffees are just the fourth side to record as many as 20 shutouts in the competition since his first game in charge in February 2023.

Ipswich, meanwhile, remain without a win since their return to the big time – only in 2009-10 (first 14) and 2018-19 (first 11) have the Tractor Boys endured a longer winless start to an English league season.

Everton boss Sean Dyche says the noise around the club's takeover by The Friedkin Group is "just a reality of the job" and he knows no more than the fans about how long it will take to complete.

The proposed takeover from the American group is currently in processing as they await approval from the Premier League, potentially ending months of uncertainty about the future of the football club.

But on the pitch, Dyche has led the Toffees to four points in their last two games, the latest of which came in a stalemate against Newcastle before the international break.

And ahead of the trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich this weekend, Dyche insisted his players must keep up their performances and continue to grow as a collective.

"I've said it all along," Dyche told BBC Sport. "The powers that be might know more than me, and that's right because it's a business.

It's not just a football business that I take care of on the pitch, it's the whole business. So, they're going to have to wait and see. The noise is just a reality of the job. It's a great club, with great history and great concern.

"We have to just to keep growing, keep maturing, keep building on some tough times and keep coming out of those tough times.”

Ipswich, meanwhile, were dealt their joint-heaviest defeat of the season last time out, losing 4-1 to West Ham at the London Stadium.

The Tractor Boys are now winless in their first seven Premier League games since their promotion from the Championship, their joint-longest run without victory at the start of a top-flight season in their history (also seven games in 1969-70).

However, head coach Kieran McKenna was optimistic about his side’s start to the campaign, but reiterated the ruthlessness of the top-flight is something his players must become accustomed to.

“Of course, it is the first time we have lost a game in a while, we have been competitive in lots of games, but we still have a big jump to go to consistently win games,” McKenna said.

“There are lots of things we have done, but the defeat against West Ham was a reminder of how quickly the game can get away from you – the quality across the league is so high.

“We need to be at our best on and off the ball and in our mindset if we are to be competitive. We have shown we can compete, and we know we have lots to build on.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ipswich – Liam Delap

Delap has scored four goals in his last five Premier League games for Ipswich, including three in his last two.

He could become the fifth different player to score in three in a row for the club in the competition, while at the age of 21 he would be the youngest to do so.

Everton – Dwight McNeil

McNeil has played more successful through balls than any other player in the Premier League this season (five). All five of these have been received by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The Englishman has also created 23 chances this year (level with Andreas Pereira and Cole Palmer), with only Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (27) creating more in the division.

MATCH PREDICTION: IPSWICH WIN

This is the first meeting between Ipswich and Everton in any competition since a 2-1 win for the Tractor Boys at Goodison Park in February 2002. It would be their penultimate Premier League victory that season, despite still having 13 games to play.

Ipswich also boasts an impressive record over the Toffees, though, winning three of their last four Premier League games against them (D1), as many as they had in their previous 17 league meetings with Everton (D4 L10).

However, McKenna’s men remain winless in their seven Premier League games so far this season (D4 L3) – they’ve never gone eight games from the start of a top-flight campaign without a win before.

But Everton are on a poor run of their own away from Merseyside. They are winless in their last 14 Premier League away games (D5 L9). Only twice have they had a longer such run in the competition – 16 between February and December 2017, and 19 between December 1996 and December 1997.

The Toffees have also failed to score in three of their five Premier League away games against Ipswich, including both such visits so far in the 21st century (0-2 in February 2001, 0-0 in October 2001).

But this weekend’s visitors are unbeaten in their last five Premier League meetings with promoted sides (W3 D2), having won just one of their previous 13 such games prior to this (D5 L7), and will be hoping to build on their last two results at Portman Road.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Ipswich – 40%

Draw – 26.5%

Everton – 33.5%

There were plenty of thrills and spills across the board in the Premier League as matchday seven ran its course.

Manchester City and Arsenal both had to come from behind to beat Fulham and Southampton respectively at home, while there were eight goals scored as Brentford overcame Wolves 5-3, with six of those strikes coming in the first half in west London.

Liverpool kept themselves ahead at the summit thanks to a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while Manchester United stopped the rot by holding Aston Villa, albeit they have now tallied up their lowest points total after seven games of any Premier League season.

Leicester City, meanwhile, grabbed their first win of the campaign, while Anthony Gordon endured a miserable return to Goodison Park with Newcastle United. In the final fixture of the weekend, Brighton stunned Tottenham, forging a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.

So, after all that, who were the unlucky, and lucky, teams based on the underlying metrics?

Lucky winners: Leicester City

Leicester finally got their first top-flight win of the season on the board, as they edged out Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to Facundo Buonanotte's excellent run and finish.

But, it's fair to say it was something of a smash-and-grab for Steve Cooper's team at the King Power Stadium. Leicester had just six shots, with only two of those hitting the target, and they tallied up just 0.79 expected goals (xG).

On the other hand, Bournemouth had 19 attempts, creating five big chances (a tally bettered only by Brentford's eight and West Ham's nine this week) and accumulating 2.16 xG.

Bournemouth only have themselves to blame for wasteful finishing – they got just two of their efforts on target – but the Cherries can still consider themselves unfortunate.

Unlucky losers: Newcastle

Determined to impress against his former club, Gordon fluffed his lines when his big moment arrived as Newcastle drew 0-0 with Everton on Saturday.

With James Tarkowski having conceded a penalty by recklessly pulling the shirt of Sandro Tonali, Gordon stepped up to the spot, but Jordan Pickford guessed the right way.

While Everton wanted a penalty of their own in the second half, the Toffees were largely second-best and that is backed up by the metrics. Even discounting Gordon's spot-kick, Newcastle finished with 1.26 xG and 14 shots. The hosts accumulated 0.67 xG and had eight attempts.

Lucky winners: Man City

It's not often that the champions are given a run for their money at home, but Fulham did just that.

Indeed, Fulham finished with 2.6 xG at the Etihad Stadium, the fourth-highest total across the league this weekend, while they created five big chances.

Pep Guardiola has said he is not concerned by Man City's unusually open defence, but he will want to see better from his team in that regard after the international break.

Going forward, City benefited from three excellent finishes - two from Mateo Kovacic and one from Jeremy Doku. Their 1.57 xG came from 20 shots, though they created only one big chance.