Burnley v Everton: Doucoure to net in 9/1 Bet Builder

• Everton have won their last three away games

• Sean Dyche managed Burnley from 2012 to 2022

• Doucoure can score again to land 9/110.00 Bet Builder

• Free football multi or Bet Builder this weekend

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Burnley v Everton
Saturday December 16, 17:30
Sky Sports Premier League

Clarets looking to build on Blades win

After a miserable run of seven straight home losses, Burnley finally shook off their Turf Moor misery when blasting away Sheffield United 5-0 a fortnight ago.

There was much relief following defeats to Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and West Ham, six matches which saw those visitors fire in a combined 20 goals.

To be fair, that's hardly the easiest run of games and five of that six started this weekend in the top nine in the table.

Vincent Kompany's men added another useful point when drawing 1-1 at Brighton last time so there are signs of hope starting to emerge even though they remain second-bottom with a paltry haul of just eight points from 16 games.

Toffees wiping out points punishment

The 'roll up the sleeves and we'll show you' script didn't emerge in Everton's first game after their 10-point deduction. In fact that 3-0 home loss to Manchester United looks particularly poor given the continuing stumbles of Erik ten Hag's men.

But the siege mentality has certainly kicked in now. Everton have racked up a trio of wins against Nottingham Forest (1-0), Newcastle (3-0) and Chelsea (2-0), virtually wiping out the deduction in the space of eight days.

Despite that handicap, they'd pulled four points clear of the drop zone at the end of last weekend and their true tally of 23 would have put them in 10th.

From being a big part of the relegation conversation, especially after their heavy punishment, the Toffees are now not considered to be in any sort of danger - the Betfair Sportsbook has them at 11/26.50 to go down. On current form, that assessment seems fair enough.

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Dyche fancied to make happy return

This, of course, has the feeling of a school reunion. Not only is Sean Dyche returning to the club he managed from 2012 to 2022, it's also back to the old stomping ground for Everton first-teamers James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeill.

Both have been key men in the Toffees' recent surge of results and the market says their return to Turf Moor will be a happy one.

On the Betfair Exchange, Everton are 2.186/5 favourites, with Burnley 3.711/4 and The Draw 3.55/2.

Victory for the Blues would mean a fourth straight away win following successes at West Ham (1-0), Crystal Palace (3-2) and Nottingham Forest (1-0) since they lost October's Merseyside derby 2-0 at Anfield.

Burnley actually have a good record in this fixture with five wins in the eight Premier League meetings in which they've hosted Everton. But most of that is down to Dyche and he's now sitting on the away bench.

Kompany v Dyche is a fascinating contrast in styles but, for now, the latter's pragmatic approach is proving more effective that the former's idealism.

The bottom line is that Everton (4) have more away wins this season than third-placed Aston Villa (3) and Burnley have been easy to roll over at home so I have to side with the Merseysiders here.

Burnley are improving but a facile win over rock-bottom Sheffield United and a rather fortunate 1-1 draw at Brighton last time suggests they're peeking around the corner but haven't turned it just yet.

Doucoure the Bet Builder pick

Abdoulaye Doucoure has been one of the quiet stars of the season, netting six times from midfield. That accounts for 30% of Everton's 20 Premier League goals.

The Mali international has found the net in his last two starts while he's scored away goals at Sheffield United, Brentford and Crystal Palace - like Burnley, all teams in the bottom half.

With three top-flight strikes in his last five games, Doucoure can help fuel a Bet Builder.

Burnley have averaged over a goal per game at home but have conceded at twice that rate. If that plays out again, the hosts get on the scoresheet but Everton win the match.

Add Doucoure into that scenario and we get a Bet Builder around 9s.

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