This weekend’s Premier League action kicks off on Merseyside as Everton face Sunderland at Goodison Park.

The Toffee’s saw their six game unbeaten run ended at Aston Villa last time out, though a return to winning ways here would see them climb into the top half of the table.

They are also unbeaten in front of their own fans in all competitions this calendar year, while they have kept clean sheets in seven of their last eight home league fixtures.

Steven Pienaar is set to miss out with a muscle problem while Brian Oviedo and Darron Gibson won’t feature again this season due to their respective injury issues.

Romelu Lukaku is favourite to open the scoring at 2.4 (7/5) with Paddy Power, with fellow Belgium international Kevin Mirallas a 3.7 (27/10) chance with 888 Sport.

The home win is a 1.83 (5/6) chance with Paddy Power, with the away victory as highly priced as the 5.5 (9/2) on offer from William Hill. The draw can be backed at 3.75 (11/4) with a variety of firms.

Dick Advocat’s side secured a somewhat surprising victory over Southampton last weekend, but remain in the bottom three, a point from safety.

Prior to that win, they had taken maximum points just once in ten outings, while they haven’t been victorious away from home in 2015 – losing four of those eight matches on the road.

Steven Fletcher is set to return after missing the last two matches with an ankle complaint, while defensive duo Wes Brown and John O’Shea face late fitness tests ahead of the game.

Jermaine Defoe is 9.0 (8/1) to get the first goal of the game with Bet 365, with Conor Wickham an 11.0 (10/1) shot with the same firm.

The sides played out a 1-1 draw when they met at the Stadium of Light back in November, while both of last season’s meetings ended in 1-0 victories for the away team.

With Roberto Martinez’s men so solid at home in recent months, you may be tempted to back the home win to nil at 2.88 (15/8) with Paddy Power.