Everton is coming into this 1st match of the season after a year where they were almost relegated but managed to save themselves in the final weeks of the season. Despite being one of the worst teams in the Premier League last season, they finished the season playing well as they only had 1 loss in their final 5 matches. They have made some moves in the transfer window as well and their defense has gotten a lot better now. Their defense was very good at times last year, especially when playing at home, and even in their recent friendlies as they get ready for the season, their defense has been very good in those matches. They are going up against a Fulham side that is coming off of a very good season themselves but they started to fizzle out near the end of the year and were much worse in their away matches as well. They have not played in many matches during the offseason but the 3 matches they have played in over the last 2 weeks were not good as they failed to score goals in 2 of those 3 matches. After the way last season ended for Everton with almost being relegated, they are going to be hungry to have a much better start this season now that they have improved the team defensively in the transfer window and they have a direction that they are headed in. They have played very well defensively in their home matches and they will be able to build on that in this home match, especially after losing 18 matches last season they are going to be focused on playing good defense to eliminate a lot of those losses this year, turning them into points at least. Fulham did not finish last season playing great either and they have not played in too many matches recently to get ready for the season. They will struggle to score goals in this 1st match back but Everton does not have a potent attack either so they are going to struggle just as much scoring on this defense that was playing much better in the 2nd half of the season last year. This is going to be a low scoring and defensive match that stays under 2.5 goals.