Everton v Leicester: Toffees favoured in tight Goodison Park battle

• Everton average 1.60 PPG at home under Lampard
  
• Leicester have won just 5 of their last 25 away days
  
• Toffees can edge a low-scoring showdown

Pickford preserves a point for Everton

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was in inspired form as the Toffees pinched a point from their trip to Fulham last weekend. England's number one pulled off a string of fine saves to earn the Merseysiders a fourth clean sheet of the campaign as the teams played out an entertaining 0-0 at Craven Cottage.

Fulham's top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic had 10 efforts on goal but through a combination of good goalkeeping and errant finishing was unable to break the deadlock. Everton's rearguard again received plenty of post-match praise with Pickford earning Man of the Match plaudits, and centre-back pairing James Tarkowski and Conor Coady standing out.

However, the Toffees defensive fortitude was undermined by another toothless attacking display as the visitors offered no real thrust in forward areas.

Manager Frank Lampard recognised the need for improvement, saying:

"It was OK from us, just OK. We had bright periods in the game but not loads, although we do at least have real resilience about us."

Returning right-back Nathan Patterson is hoping to displace club captain Seamus Coleman this weekend, while Abdoulaye Doucoure, Tom Davies, and James Garner are all vying for a start in midfield if Lampard opts to shake things up. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will again lead the line with Dwight McNeil and Neal Maupay settling for a place on the bench.

Leicester fall short against Man City

Leicester chief Brendan Rodgers insisted he had no regrets about his side's tactical approach despite suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City last weekend. It took a moment of dead-ball brilliance from Kevin De Bruyne to settle a tight game at the King Power Stadium as the Foxes' pragmatic strategy largely nullified the defending champions.

Nevertheless, there was a sense that a more ambitious approach might just have provided some reward from the contest. Leicester were content to sit back in the opening half, and only really ventured forward when chasing the game. Youri Tielemans thundered an excellent effort and Man City's defence were unsettled by plenty of late home pressure.

Speaking post-match, Rodgers said: "The players carried out the gameplan as well as we could have asked them to. You have to still be in the game with 20 minutes to go. Defensively we were very, very good but we lacked belief at times and that let us down. We had good chances in the game and we were unfortunate not to nick something."

Caglar Soyuncu was given a rare start in the heart of the Foxes defence, and Jamie Vardy was also recalled against Man City. Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka will be hoping for recalls following their cameos off the bench, whilst Jonny Evans is also scheduled to return from injury.

Two overachieving teams on show

Everton have relished their recent Premier League meetings with Leicester - the Toffees are unbeaten in each of their last five fixtures against the Foxes (W3-D2-L0), having lost five of their previous nine against City. Meanwhile, only two of the past 14 head-to-head match-ups between the pair have ended all-square with Everton enjoying a W7-D2-L5 supremacy.

Everton 2.506/4 have kept four clean sheets in their last eight, earning back-to-back shutouts against Crystal Palace and Fulham. Even so, the Toffees are allowing the fourth-highest Expected Goals Against (xGA) figure, conceding around nine goals fewer than underlying metrics project. Meanwhile, the hosts have fired blanks in 11/31 (35%) outings under Lampard.

Leicester 3.052/1 have also overachieved. The Foxes have scored 21 goals from an xG tally of 13.70, with Brendan Rodgers' outfit also boasting the third-worst defensive record in the Premier League this season. Leicester have already lost eight of the nine games in which they've conceded (W0-D1-L8), with the visitors shipping 19 goals in only six away days.

Toffees favoured in tight tussle

Neither team standout as an obvious value option, although Everton do tend to raise their performance levels when playing in front of their passionate Goodison Park supporters. Under Lampard, the Toffees have registered W7-D3-L5 here - a reasonable 1.60 points per-game average with three of their five losses arriving against Big Six opposition.

In contrast, Leicester have taken top honours in only five of their 25 away Premier League fixtures going back to the beginning of last season (W5-D6-L14), while keeping only two clean sheets and conceding an average of 2.20 goals per-game. Such off-putting long-term figures are enough to sway us towards the resilient Merseysiders in the Bet Builder.

We can back Everton Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.804/5, a selection that pays out should the Toffees secure a 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 or 2-1 success, as well as the potential 0-0 or 1-1 stalemates.