Paul Merson believes that Marco Silva’s off-colour Everton side will have just enough to squeeze past Huddersfield Town when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
The Toffees were controversially ousted from the FA Cup by a handball goal and a last gasp winner against Millwall on Saturday evening, but ex-Arsenal man Merson thinks that they will atone for that embarrassing loss with a tight win over the Terriers.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Marco Silva is under a lot of pressure at Everton after the defeat to Millwall.
“He’ll be in big, big trouble if they follow that up with a defeat at Huddersfield because to lose to Huddersfield and Millwall inside four days would not be good.
“It won’t be easy for Everton with Jan Siewert taking charge of Huddersfield for the first time, but they should just about have enough to edge this one and ease the pressure on Silva a little.”
Merson predicts the Blues to win 1-0.
OPINION
With his team’s league form bordering on disastrous in recent weeks, the last thing Marco Silva will have needed would be for his struggling Toffees to be ejected from the FA Cup by a Championship Millwall side. The Cup could have provided some welcome respite for players and fans alike, but instead of making their mark on the competition, the Blues showed a lack of gumption and nerve, and on balance, probably deserved to lose. That does amp up the pressure on Tuesday’s match of course. For all ambitions of a European finish look unlikely at the moment, Everton need to right themselves quickly, and a win against the struggling Terrier would be the ideal catalyst to rekindle some of their early season form. The Toffees may be eleventh, but they are only three points off that exalted seventh place, and a win in Yorkshire under the floodlights, accompanied by a bit of fortune with results elsewhere could help them forget their cup upset Blues in a hurry.