Everton vs Brighton and Hove Albion will be played at Goodison Park on Saturday 17 August 2024. It is one of the games that marks the return of the “Goal Rush”, the Premier League’s multi-game coverage every match week.
It will be a special game for the club thanks to their plans to move out of Goodison starting 2025/26. The club cannot upgrade the historic ground any further and as such, have chosen to move to a new ground which has a bigger capacity than the fabled stadium.
Several events have been planned for their move and the first of those events will be on the day of their opening match for the 2024/25 season. This makes it a must-win game for the Toffees. Their recent head-to-head record against Brighton, however, will give them a cause for concern.
Both managers will be gearing up for a tough season as well. Everton played enough football to finish 12th, one place below their opening-day opponents Brighton, but peculiar circumstances relegated them to 15th. A win for either side will set the time for their seasons.
Keep reading for match ticket information, team news, match previews and predictions for the game.
Ticket Information
Everton vs Brighton and Hove Albion tickets are on sale on Everton’s official club website as well as Brighton’s official club websites. It is a 3 PM kickoff which means it is one of several matches that will be played simultaneously. Television broadcasting does not cover it in the UK which means that fans of both clubs will have to purchase tickets. The same is true for visitors who want to watch the game.
Priority will be given to registered fans of both clubs on the club websites which means that tourist fans will have to register and wait for their registration to be ratified. The fastest way around this is to buy tickets from fans or organisations registered on trusted ticket reselling platforms. Seatsnet.com is one such platform and fans can easily find Everton vs Brighton and Hove Albion tickets by typing that into the website’s search box.
Team News
Everton are currently undergoing a big squad rebuild ahead of the season. Sean Dyche pulled a rabbit out of a hat to keep them in the Premier League after sanctions cost them points and their ex-manager, Frank Lampard, put them in a precarious position.
He was able to do it with a strong core that included Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana, who is now with Aston Villa after the Toffees accepted a fee that is being reported to be around £50 million. This is good money they can invest in other parts of the squad but finding a man with Onana’s talents – talents that Barcelona also wanted – in the current transfer window may be difficult.
This sale is also a stroke of good luck for them as reports claim that they will be keeping Jarrad Branthwaite as they would prefer not to lose two of their strongest players in one window. The other battle will be to keep top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the season as his transfer will leave them with only Beto and the returning Neal Maupay (who could both be on their way out).
The Toffees have already secured a top forward in Iliman Ndiaye, however, but he will not be enough for Brighton.
The Seagulls, on the other hand, could lose Simon Adingra to Olympique Marseille because of Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian called time on his Brighton managerial career and moved to the historical French club whom he has asked to secure the services of the Ivorian. Adingra was key to De Zerbi’s Brighton team and his loss will surely affect new manager Fabian Hürzeler.
The German has already begun his squad building, however, with his most prominent signing being 24-year-old Mats Wieffer, a player much like Amadou Onana and one who Barcelona also had an eye on. They have also copped youngsters Yankuba Minteh (19), Ibrahim Osman (19) and Malick Junior Yalcouyé (19). All three are attackers, which means that Adingra’s potential loss has been covered.
Both teams are expected to put out new lineups and below is what we expect them to look like.
Everton: Pickford; Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Young; Iroegbunam, Garner; Doucouré; Mceil, Harrison; Calvert-Lewin.
Brighton: Verbruggen; Van Hecke, Dunk, Igor; Estupiñan, Gilmour, Wieffer, Lamptey; Mitoma, Ferguson, Minteh.
Match Preview
The last time Everton beat Brighton at Goodison Park was in 2020, thanks to a James Rodriguez brace.
That feels like a lifetime ago now because the Toffees do not have any player of the Colombian’s quality. This is why the Iliman Ndiaye signing is exciting because he is a natural attacking midfielder who can drop deep to create while also being able to play as a centre-forward.
However, it is unlikely he will start the game as Dyche will most likely pick a team he knows even with significant changes being made to the lineup. The Toffees will surely be aiming to continue their good run that helped them stave off relegation in the 2023/24 season. They won five straight games at Goodison which means that Brighton will need to come out guns blazing to break that home fortress.
The game will be an emotional one for the club and its fans, as it is the first of their last 19 games at the grounds that they have called home for 131 years.
Prediction
Games like these tend to set the tone for what the middle of the Premier League table is going to look like.
The winner of this game could go on to have a decent season, which is why both managers will not be as conservative as many expect them to be. Hürzeler especially, will be looking to impress as the league’s youngest ever manager.
Both teams will attempt to attack more than they will defend, and this will play into Brighton’s hands as they have, pound for pound, the better attackers and creators.
Everton 1 – 0 Brighton and Hove Albion
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