Everton Football Club finally seems to be on the right path this season.
The Toffees started the campaign with four consecutive losses and looked disjointed, but they found some form toward the end of September and are now unbeaten -- albeit with just one win -- in their last three matches.
Everton now faces a fellow relegation contender in Ipswich Town on Saturday morning.
The Toffees are a +200 underdog on the three-way moneyline at the time of writing.
Things are always a little funky in the first few weeks of any season in any sport, but one of the most surprising parts of Everton's early struggles was that the defense was leaking like a sieve.
The Toffees were in the thick of a relegation battle for most of 2023-24, but their defensive acumen was their saving grace. Everton was a dogged, determined unit.
That structure deserted it in the first month of this campaign, but it's been much better of late.
Everton held Leicester, Crystal Palace and Newcastle to a combined two goals on 3.7 expected goals, with plenty of that coming from the 2.1 xG the Magpies created in a nil-nil loss.
But even that needs some context as Newcastle had a penalty shot saved in that contest, which accounted for a large chunk of its xG output.
And it needs to be noted that Ipswich Town is not Newcastle. Ipswich is almost the opposite of Everton.
The Tractor Boys are not a strong defensive side -- they may end up as the worst in the Premier League when all is said and done -- but they do have some offensive chops.
They look to outscore their problems and will fancy their chances of doing so at home against an Everton side that has been struggling to stay in the Premier League for the last three seasons
That should play into Everton's hands, as the Toffees are a dangerous counter-attacking outfit and will be licking their chops at the opportunity to run at this Ipswich backline.
The Bet: Everton (+200, DraftKings)
Michael Leboff handicaps the EPL, NHL, golf and anything else that isn't the NFL and NBA for the NY Post. He's up 49.73 units betting EPL with a 7.17% ROI.