Everton v Southampton: 4 Key Players To Watch Out For At Goodison Park

Everton battled for a opening day point at Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, but the Toffees will look to record their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Southampton to Goodison Park.

A brace from new signing Richarlison helped Marco Silva's bag a 2-2 draw with the Premier League newcomers, and the Merseysides will now look to beat a Saints side that started their new top-flight season with a goalless draw at home to Burnley.

However, Saints fans will head to the blue side of Liverpool with significant trepidation as they have failed to win at Goodison Park in over 20 years, with their last win over Everton coming in November 1997, as goals from Matthew Le Tissier and Kevin Davies handed them a 2-0 win.

Turning our attentions to this weekend's clash, we pick out a couple of players from each side that could come to the fore in the 3:00pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon, and try to assess who will prevail with the points in one of Saturday's feature games.

Two Everton Players To Watch

Theo Walcott

A Southampton trainee, Theo Walcott blossomed at Arsenal for over a decade, but the England international has now left the Emirates Stadium for more regular first-team football, and he will be eager to heap misery on Saints fans, who once adored him as he broke into the first-team, and he is sure to be a key player at the weekend.

He may have played second fiddle to Richarlison at the weekend, but he played the full 90 minutes for Silva in his first Premier League match in charge of Everton, and Walcott's trickery and pace could cause the Saints defence some issues, and they will be eager to get him on the ball in dangerous areas.

Richarlison

Magnificent on debut, Richarlison is enjoying life back with former Watford boss Silva, and the Brazilian will now want to kick on from his fine brace last weekend.  He started last season in superb fashion for the Hornets, but then struggled to maintain his high standards, so Everton fans will hope last week's fine display against Wolves wasn't a flash in the pan.

During the 86 minutes he was on the pitch, Richarlison had 53 touches, of which five were in the opposition box, while he won three free-kicks in the Wolves half, and most importantly made 12 successful forward passes in the final third, so he could really torment the Saints defence if replicating those numbers.

Two Southampton Players To Watch

Charlie Austin

Southampton's winless run on the opening day continued as they could only draw 0-0 with Burnley, and it was a tough start for Charlie Austin, who was given the green light to spearhead the attack by Mark Hughes.  

Substituted after 76 minutes for Manolo Gabbiadini, Austin only had one shot in the match, and with Danny Ings having signed on transfer deadline day he will be eager to notch his first goal of the season.  Hughes should give him the chance from the start again, and with Phil Jagielka banned for Everton he could come up against a new Toffees back-line, and he will be looking to net for the Saints, who will be desperate to score their first goal of the season.

Jannik Vestergaard

A summer signing from Borussia Monchengladbach, Jannik Vestergaard made a fine debut at the heart of Southampton's defence last weekend, and the Danish international will have a tough job to keep Everton's attacking players quiet, but early signs suggest he could be up to the job.

At 6ft 6in he is sure to win a lot of aerial battles, and last weekend he won possession four times in the defensive third, while 12 successful clearances - of which seven were headers - just emphasises his ability in the air, and he will certainly nullify a host of Everton set-pieces this season.

He will have arguably quicker, trickier strikers to contend with this week at Everton, but he will be aiming to help Saints record another clean sheet and looks a superb buy from Hughes at St Mary's.