Mark Lawrenson has predicted Everton to suffer a defeat when they travel to Leicester on Sunday in the Premier League.
Caretaker manager David Unsworth will take his Toffees side to the King Power Stadium at the weekend and will be desperate to move out of the relegation places.
The Merseyside club are still on the search for a new full-time replacement after the departure of Ronald Koeman and Unsworth will get another chance to stake his claim for the position on Sunday.
Everton lost their last Premier League game 5-2 at home to Arsenal, which turned out to be Koeman’s last game, and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Leicester have also sacked their manager during the early stages of the season as Craig Shakespeare was dismissed.
They have moved quickly to appoint a new man at the helm and ex-Southampton boss Claude Puel will take charge of his first Foxes game against Everton.
BBC pundit Lawrenson has tipped Everton to suffer a 2-0 defeat and is expecting their tough spell to continue this season.
“I don’t know who Everton will go for to replace Ronald Koeman but, in the meantime, it will be interesting to see how their caretaker boss, David Unsworth, looks to try to change things,” Lawrenson wrote in his column for BBC Sport.
“I don’t think the Toffees’ fortunes will improve here [against Leicester] and, whoever gets the job, they look like they will be facing a season of firefighting.”
OPINION
Everton put in a gutsy display in their defeat to Chelsea and there are signs that they can turn things around if they play with some genuine width. They will be unable to address the situation of a recognised centre-forward until the January window at least and will have to make do until then. The Toffees will face a very difficult test against a Leicester team that will want to impress their new manager and have several star players in their side. Everton should be pleased if they can pick up a point on the road and will need to defend well to keep the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez quiet.