Everton come up against Non-League opposition in the FA Cup fifth round on Thursday as they face National League side Boreham Wood.

The Wood have enjoyed a fantastic run in the competition this season after winning 1-0 at National League rivals Barnet in their first game. Since then, the Hertfordshire club have beaten Eastleigh, rivals St Albans, League One club Wimbledon and Championship promotion chasers – all without conceding – to set up this televised clash against Premier League outfit Everton at Goodison Park.

Everton go into the game on the back of two straight defeats but they were unlucky to lose 1-0 at home to Manchester City at the weekend. I’m expecting boss Frank Lampard to name close to his best XI with a place in the quarter-finals at stake, and no Premier League manager will want to risk a defeat against fifth tier opposition in a cup game.

Fairytale set to end for Boreham Wood
The visitors have enjoyed some incredible results in this competition but even with the ‘magic of the cup’ taken into account it is hard to see them getting a result at Goodison Park. Since 1995, only 10 Non-League clubs have reached this stage of the competition and only one has managed to progress further – Lincoln City in 2017.

The Imps did manage to dump out Premier League club Burnley during that awesome cup run but they were then thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal in the last eight.

Boreham Wood’s defensive resolve has been clear to see during the FA Cup and the fact they are yet to concede in the competition suggests they can frustrate Everton, but ultimately I expect the Merseyside outfit to win the game in 90 minutes. Going for an Everton win at 1/7 has no real appeal, but one bet that does stand out is the second half to produce the most goals.

Luke Garrard’s will almost certainly line up to defend and see what they can get on the counter or from set pieces. Everton have been fairly slow starters of late and have failed to score in the first half in eight of their last 12 games, so they may need some time



译文(自动翻译仅供参考):

埃弗顿将在周四的足总杯第五轮遭遇非联赛对手，他们将面对国家联盟的伯勒汉姆森林队。

在本赛季的首场比赛中，伍德队以1-0战胜了国家联盟的竞争对手巴尼特队。此后，这支赫特福德郡的俱乐部在没有失球的情况下击败了伊斯特雷格、竞争对手圣奥尔本斯、英甲温布尔登和英冠晋级球队，并在古迪逊公园球场直播了与英超球队埃弗顿的比赛。

埃弗顿在连续两场失利后进入比赛，但他们不幸在周末主场0 - 1输给曼城。我希望主帅兰帕德能在四分之一决赛中选出他最好的十一人，没有一个英超主帅愿意在杯赛中冒着被五级对手击败的风险。

伯勒罕森林的童话即将结束
客队在这场比赛中取得了一些令人难以置信的成绩，但即使考虑到“杯的魔力”，也很难看到他们在古迪逊公园取得这样的成绩。自1995年以来，只有10家非联赛俱乐部达到了这一阶段的比赛，而且只有一家球队取得了进一步的进步，那就是2017年的林肯城。

在那场精彩的杯赛中，Imps确实成功地击败了英超的伯恩利，但在最后8场比赛中，他们被阿森纳5-0击败。

伯勒罕伍德的防守决心在足总杯中已经很明显了，他们还没有在比赛中失球的事实表明他们可以挫败埃弗顿，但最终我希望默西塞德的队伍能在90分钟内赢得比赛。以1/7的比分赢得埃弗顿并没有真正的吸引力，但有一个赌注确实引人注目，那就是下半场创造最多的进球。

卢克-加拉德几乎肯定会站起来防守，看看他们能从反击或定位球中得到什么。埃弗顿在后场的表现相当缓慢，在过去的12场比赛中有8场上半场没有进球，所以他们可能需要一些时间