TEAM NEWSEverton remain without long-term absentees Seamus Coleman, Yannick Bolasie and Ramiro Funes Mori, while boss Ronald Koeman expects midfielder James McCarthy to return to training next week.
Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson is still working towards full fitness after suffering a second serious knee ligament injury inside 16 months back in February.
Winger Junior Stanislas returned from a groin problem to play his first game of the season in the Cherries’ Carabao Cup victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday night.
The south coast team reported no injury concerns following that game - and ahead of what will be just their third league trip to Goodison Park.
FORMBournemouth breathed life into their Premier League season with a valuable home victory over Brighton in front of the television cameras last Friday night.
The Cherries were staring down the barrel of a fifth successive defeat when they trailed to Solly March’s 55th-minute header but, inspired by substitute Jordon Ibe, summoned a stirring response.
Andrew Surman collected Ibe’s return pass to equalise midway through the second half before former Liverpool winger Ibe slid through a clever ball for Jermain Defoe to lash home the winner – his first goal for the club since signing in the summer.
Bournemouth went into that match off the back of a 3-0 reverse at Arsenal, where their performance drew criticism from boss Eddie Howe. They started the season with a single-goal loss against West Bromwich and have also gone down to home defeats by Watford and Manchester City.
Nevertheless, the Cherries followed their Premier League win over Brighton by toppling the same opponents in the cup four days later, courtesy of Joshua King’s extra-time strike.
Everton will hope their own Carabao Cup win on Wednesday night – 3-0 against Sunderland – can act as the launchpad for a profitable period of form.
That success against the Wearsiders halted a four-game losing streak – three of those defeats coming in the Premier League.
But after facing the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United away from home in the past month, manager Koeman will welcome the opportunity to get back to Goodison for the Blues’ next two top-flight matches – with a visit from Burnley next week following Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth.
ONE TO WATCH: JOSHUA KINGKing finished last season as one of the Premier League’s form strikers.
The Norwegian’s opportunity to play in his favourite centre-forward role came about due to Wilson’s injury – and he grabbed it in spectacular style.
King marked his first outing in the position by scoring twice in the Cherries’ 6-3 defeat at Everton – and, buoyed by his instant success, he simply went from strength to strength.
A hat-trick in Bournemouth’s crucial 3-2 win over West Ham back in March was the highlight of a golden run, in which he scored 12 times in 14 matches.
King’s overall 16-goal return from his 36 appearances was the eighth highest of any player in the Premier League last term and after a summer of speculation linking him with a move away from Dean Court he penned a new four-year deal with his club days before the transfer window closed.
The attacker moved to Manchester United from his homeland when he was only 16. Capped 30 times by Norway, King had a succession of loan spells away from Old Trafford during his four years with United, before completing a move to Blackburn Rovers in 2013.
He spent two years with the then Championship team and carved out a name for himself by plundering a hat-trick in Rovers’ 4-1 FA Cup win over Premier League Stoke City early in 2015.
Bournemouth snapped up King for a bargain £1million two years ago and, under the tutelage of manager Howe, he has developed into a powerful, clinical and assured performer.
The 25-year-old has been quieter in front of goal from the outset of this season, perhaps owing to him adjusting to his new partnership with Defoe.
But King broke his duck on Tuesday, when his expert finish knocked Brighton out of the Carabao Cup.
LAST TIME: EVERTON 6-3 BOURNEMOUTHEverton came out on top of a barmy nine-goal thriller, which left both managers cursing their defences, when the teams met at Goodison Park back in February.
Bournemouth boss Howe could scarcely believe his eyes when Romelu Lukaku thrashed home the first of a personal four-goal haul after only 30 seconds - equalling Chelsea’s Pedro as scorer of the season’s fastest goal in the process.
And Howe’s frustration was compounded when James McCarthy and Lukaku, again, struck to send Everton into the break with a three-goal advantage.
It was Koeman’s turn to watch on in bewilderment when King scored twice in quick succession to leave the game firmly in the balance with 20 minutes to play.
Everton nerves were soothed, however, when Lukaku scored on 83 and 84 minutes. And despite Harry Arter cutting the deficit late on, Ross Barkley had the final word with a cool finish into the Park End net to complete a 6-3 triumph for the Blues.
The win was Everton’s third on the spin at home and extended their unbeaten record to a seventh game - a run they would extend to nine before suffering a narrow defeat at Tottenham in the first week of March.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: MARTIN ATKINSONYorkshireman Atkinson has refereed twice in the Premier League this season and shown one red card – to Hal Robson-Kanu in West Bromwich’s 1-0 win at Burnley.
Atkinson also took charge of Manchester United’s opening day victory over West Ham - and has issued five cautions across his two matches.
He refereed Everton on three occasions in last season’s Premier League – the Goodison meeting with Tottenham and home and away games against Swansea City.
Atkinson first officiated in the English top-flight in the 2004/05 campaign and has since progressed to become an Elite FIFA referee.
The 46-year-old was one of two English referees - along with Mark Clattenburg - to take charge of matches at last year’s European Championship.
He was the man in the middle for Sevilla’s Europa League final victory over Ukranian team Dnipro in 2015 and oversaw Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final second-leg demolition of city rivals Atletico last term.
LIVE COVERAGEAs always, there will be free live audio commentary of Saturday’s contest on evertonfc.com.
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