Евертън среща Лестър в турнира за ФА Къп

A team steeped in the tradition of the FA Cup Everton kick-off their challenge to win the trophy with a third round tie at home against Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday.

The home side’s last trophy came in this competition back in 1995, when a Paul Rideout goal helped defeat Manchester United 1-0 in the final. Current boss Ronald Koeman is attempting to bring back the glory days on the blue half of Merseyside. The Dutchman will hope to end the Toffees trophy drought by winning the FA Cup this season.

The Merseysider’s made it to the semi-final last season, only to be beaten by Manchester United 2-1, with French forward Anthony Martial scoring a stoppage-time winner.

Everton will certainly fancy their chances of beating a Foxes side who have struggled to get anywhere near the form of last season that saw them crowned champions.

The Toffees will certainly head into the clash in better spirits than their opponents, having picked up seven points from a possible nine over the festive period in the top-flight. That three-game run included a 2-0 win at Leicester.

Koeman’s side seem to have found their shooting boots of late, scoring two or more goals in their last three outings and also keeping clean sheets in two of their three festive games. The Merseysider’s have been prolific against the Foxes in recent times, scoring at least two goals in their last six home meetings with the side from the Midlands.

Leicester have kept back-to-back clean sheets but produced a rather lacklustre display in their last outing a goalless draw at relegation-threatened Middlesbrough. The Foxes are perilously close to the relegation zone, so winning this game is unlikely to be high on their priority list, so boss Claudio Ranieri may name a weakened team.

Forebet predicts that the home side will win this game and give their fans hope of a long-overdue trophy this season.