Everton unmissable here

It was a superb weekend for us last week with four of the five selections winning and even Middlesbrough’s surprising defeat at Bristol City still leaving us well over 50 units to the good. Of course, with some bookmakers the accumulator, which I recommended to a 10 units stake, isn’t a loser because the stake is returned as a free bet.

The nap last week was Newcastle to beat West Ham and the 8/5 dried up from Friday to Saturday in favour of 11/8. The Hammers have done well under Slaven Bilic and might have saved it near the end but, to be frank, 5-2 would have been a more accurate reflection of play than 2-1.

Swansea v Watford on Monday night looked a poor game by Premier League standards and it is an outright certainty that the Swans could not afford to let Jonjo Shelvey go. He is a tricky customer and it appears that temporary boss Alan Curtis was not a big fan but Shelvey will be a huge plus for Newcastle and I think this weekend’s matches will go some way towards underlining the point.

Although they have two talented strikers when the service is forthcoming, Watford look a very ordinary team to me and it may be a while before they move on from 29 points. Of course, they should be safe enough but I wouldn’t bet heavily on their survival and I suspect this week’s activity in the transfer market underlines concern within the club. By contrast, NEWCASTLE are on the up and can improve on their unlucky defeat in the FA Cup when they arrive at Vicarage Road on Saturday. They may well win this impressively enough to have the pundits engaging in a major rethink about how things will look come May.

Swansea celebrated the sketchy 1-0 win over Watford as if survival depended upon it. Unfortunately there is a very long way to go and they face a huge task at EVERTON, who are far better than their league position suggests and may cut them to pierces. There are many, many more cards to be played and I acknowledge I shall be in a very small minority but the three to go down in my book could yet be Villa, Swansea and Watford. For sure, the latter two will not want Norwich or Sunderland picking up any points this weekend.

Eastleigh gave it a real go against Bolton, a replay which should have been screened on the BBC or BT Sport, though no one is surprised any more by shoddy tactics where the major broadcasting companies are concerned. Eastleigh will win at Boreham Wood if they put the near miss behind them but the other bet is plenty of goals in the League 1 encounter between Gillingham and Peterborough.

EVERTON 40 units at 7/10 (Bet365, Betfred & Paddy Power) to beat Swansea

NEWCASTLE 20 units at 14/5 (Betfred) to beat Watford

Gillingham v Peterborough 15 units Both Teams To Score