Premier League Betting: Everton v Sunderland

Premier League / Jaymes Monte / 26 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

It is no surprise that suspensions have wreaked havoc on Sunderland’s season – they have the worst disciplinary record in the Premier League.

"The man in the middle for this game will be Phil Dowd and he could be in for a busy night, Sunderland have the worst disciplinary record in the league and with Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana and Phil Bardsley all possible starters there could be more cards on show than a Clintons warehouse."

Jaymes Monte looks at Wednesday night's game involving two sides who have had coflicting results and form throughout this season. Best Bet: Back 9pts and above @ [2.5] in Bookings Odds

Few on Wearside could have foreseen the dramatic dip in form that Sunderland have endured following such a promising start to the season. After being unlucky to come away from Old Trafford with no more than a point then beating Liverpool on home turf in the next game, they have only won once - against Arsenal - in the league since. The run of bad form coincided with the injuries and suspensions of the tough tackling midfield duo Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana and Steve Bruce will be delighted to have the both at his disposal this weekend.

It has been a contrasting season in the blue half of Merseyside where Everton began the season with an injury list longer than the Nile but have gradually improved results and performances as players have returned and the season has progressed. The impressive victory over Man City last week moved them above Sunderland for the first time this season and more importantly into the top half.

Both managers have a new centre-half amid their ranks and at their disposal for this Wednesday's game. Philippe Senderos completed his loan move from Arsenal to Everton on Monday and Matt Kilgallon is available for Sunderland after being cup tied against Portsmouth at the weekend. Senderos could slot straight into the starting line-up whilst unfortunate events surrounding Paulo Da Silva's good friend Salvador Cabanas could mean that he is replaced by Kilgallon on compassionate grounds.

Given that Sunderland haven't won on their travels since the opening day of the season it is not surprising to see them as big as [6.6] to take all three points here and I wouldn't be rushing to back the Draw at [3.9] either. [1.68] on Everton to win the match looks about right given the way both teams have been playing of late.

Whilst the Sunderland defence has been extremely leaky in recent weeks Darren Bent has continued to hold up his side of the bargain and now has 14 league goals for the season. He is [3.5] to score against Everton and looks to be worth a punt at that price given his stats for the season. But the area of real interest should be the Under/Over 2.5 goals market where you can back Over 2.5 goals at [2.06], Sunderland haven't kept a clean sheet in the league since that 1-0 victory over Arsenal way back in November and The Toffees haven't fired a blank in the same period.

The man in the middle for this game will be Phil Dowd and he could be in for a busy night, Sunderland have the worst disciplinary record in the league and with Cattermole, Cana and Phil Bardsley all possible starters there could be more cards on show than a Clintons warehouse. The bet of the night has to be to back '9pts and above' in the Bookings Odds market at [2.5].

Sunderland need to arrest their slide sometime very soon or they could be sucked into what is an extremely scrappy and tight relegation battle - they are currently [18.0] to go down. Games against Stoke, Wigan and Portsmouth follow this one but they could be absolute must wins by the time they come around.