Everton-Fulham Preview

Marco Silva will not treat Saturday's game against Everton any different to "a normal game" despite the Fulham boss facing his former club for the first time.

Silva was Everton manager for 18 months before his sacking in December 2019. He did not return to the game until the start of last season, when he took over at Fulham and guided them through a dominant Championship campaign.

Now in the Premier League, Silva and Fulham continue to impress, entering the weekend and Everton's visit in seventh place.

"It's completely the same," Silva said of the prospect of playing Everton. "It will be good to see some people who we shared very good moments with, other (moments) not so good. It's part of our life, our careers as well, be good to see some good people, some good professionals as well.

"Before the match, after the match, during the match, we want to win. They want the same, and I think it will be a normal game."

Both sides come into the game off the back of wins, with Fulham defeating Leeds United while Everton routed Crystal Palace.

That ended a run of three defeats for the Toffees, and Frank Lampard wants greater consistency from his team.

"In a really small passage of time that I've been here, we've been working towards something, and you get games where things come together and there are a lot of positives," Lampard said. "There are always things you can improve, and as much as it was good, it's important to reflect on what can be better.

"On the back of the results going into that game, we needed a result and a performance, and the lads delivered, but we need to do that consistently now and improve. For sure, that's the next challenge."

Fulham – Willian

Willian struggled badly at Arsenal in his previous Premier League stint, but the early signs have been promising at Fulham as he looks to recover the form that made him such a star at Chelsea. He will hope last week's ultimately decisive goal will be the first of many.

Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Calvert-Lewin is finally fit to start again, making Lampard's XI in consecutive matches last week. Ineffective at Newcastle United, he wasted little time in making an impact against Palace and may even believe he has a chance of making the World Cup with a strong run now.

– Fulham have won two of their last three Premier League games against Everton (L1), as many as in their previous 16 against the Toffees (W2 D2 L12).

– Everton won their last away Premier League match against Fulham in November 2020, winning 3-2. The Toffees have never won consecutive away league games against the Cottagers.

– Everton have lost more Premier League away games in London than any other side (85), with the Toffees winless in their last eight visits to the capital (D2 L6).

– Everton are winless in their last six league games against promoted sides (D2 L4), with the Toffees last having a longer such run between April 1971 and April 1973 (a run of nine).

– Fulham have won their last two Premier League games, beating Aston Villa 3-0 and Leeds United 3-2. They last won three in a row in the top-flight in April 2019, while they last scored three or more goals in three in a row in March 1966.

Updated October 28, 2022