Swansea City claimed a 1-1 draw from their Premier League meeting with Everton thanks to a well-taken strike from Jordan Ayew.
The Ghanian forward, banned for the last three matches, marked his return to the side by burying the ball past Jordan Pickford 19 minutes from time.
Ayew's goal cancelled out a bizarre opener for the Toffees, which saw Lukasz Fabianski twice keep out the ball before it hit Kyle Naughton and crossed the line for an own goal.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole for live coverage of the Premier League meeting between Swansea City and Everton at the Liberty Stadium. City are seeking a fifth straight home league win this afternoon to drag themselves further clear of the dropzone, while the visitors still have slim aspirations of finishing above Leicester City and Burnley in seventh place.
Depending on results elsewhere today, Swansea could take a giant step closer to an eighth straight season of top-flight football, although if things go badly they will be desperately looking over their shoulder with a couple of tough games to come. The story is similar for Everton, who are at a crossroads of sorts and in need of a little boost to carry them into the closing month of the campaign.
SWANSEA CITY TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Fabianski; Narsingh, Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson; Ki, King, Carroll, A.Ayew, J.Ayew
SUBS: Nordfeldt, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Roberts, Dyer, Routledge, Abraham
The big news for Swansea City is that forward Jordan Ayew returns to the starting lineup following a three-match ban for the red card awarded to him at Huddersfield Town last month. Jordan will partner brother Andrew in the forward line this afternoon, with Carlos Carvalhal seemingly going with a 5-3-2 formation. If that is the case, the versatile Luciano Narsingh will likely slot in at wing-back on the opposite flank to Olsson.
Tammy Abraham would have been pushing for a start today after his first top-flight goal in six months last time out, but Carvalhal is a huge fan of Jordan Ayew and it is he who gets the nod alongside brother Andre. Sam Clucas and Mike van der Hoorn faced late fitness tests and the former misses out on the squad entirely, but there is a place on the bench for Van der Hoorn.
Central midfield is therefore comprised of Tom Carroll, Andy King and Ki Sung-yueng, with Narsingh and Olsson being tasked to get up and down the flanks. Alternatively, it may well be a 4-3-3 formation, which would see Olsson and Kyle Naughton fielded at full-back and versatile wideman Narsingh slot in alongside the Ayew brothers. Less doubt over the two centre-backs, though, as Federico Fernandez and Alfie Mawson are both included from the off.
EVERTON TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Jagielka, Baines; Schneiderlin, Gueye; Walcott, Rooney, Bolasie; Tosun
SUBS: Joel, Martina, Niasse, Funes Mori, Davies, Vlasic, Baningime
In terms of the visitors, Sam Allardyce has made one change from the goalless draw with Liverpool a week ago. Idrissa Gueye was a second-half sub in that bland derby and is now deemed fit enough to start his first game in a month. The defensive midfielder's return is a huge boost for Allardyce, as he can slot in alongside Morgan Schneiderlin to provide some added steel in front of the back four.
Tom Davies is the player to make way for Gueye, with Everton shaping up in a 4-2-3-1 formation that is spearheaded by Cenk Tosun. The January signing hit a bit of form recently by finding the net four times in three matches, but overall his stats read played nine, scored four - not great, though he is the best the Toffees have right now. Yannick Bolasie retains his place out wide, despite some poor performances of late.
Wayne Rooney is also included from the off, despite his tantrum when being taken off in the 57th minute for the second match running last weekend. Allardyce has tried desperately to play down any sort of falling out with his skipper, and Rooney - with more away goals for Everton than any other player this season (4) - has a chance to prove his worth once again today. Alongside him is an out-of-form Theo Walcott.
Wayne Rooney reacted angrily to being replaced with less than an hour played against Liverpool last weekend, but he is retained in the starting lineup today as Everton make just the one change. Swansea City are boosted by the return of Jordan Ayew in attack following a three-match ban, meanwhile, joining brother Andre in what could well be a 5-3-2 formation.
Swansea head into this match sitting 15th in the Premier League table, sitting four points above the relegation zone. Carvalhal's men are now odds-on to survive following a remarkable turnaround since the Portuguese took charge at the end of December, having lost just three of their last 12 matches in the top flight. There is still some work to be done before they can celebrate another year of Premier League football, though.
RESULT! The full-time whistle has just blown at St Mary's Stadium, where Chelsea have defeated Southampton 3-2 in a crazy match on the south coast. The Saints led 2-0 through goals from Dusan Tadic and Jan Bednarek with an hour played, but the Premier League champions hit back through a couple of Olivier Giroud goals and one from Eden Hazard. That leaves things as they were at the bottom end of the table.
Swansea have been in good form since Carvalhal arrived four months ago, but just two points from the last nine on offer has left them still at risk of relegation - even more so had Southampton held on against Chelsea. The Swans were happy enough with their draws away at Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion, however, having had to play with 10 men for a large part of the former and forced to recover from a goal down in the latter.
The Swans have played three away matches in a row, in fact, as they were also beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford, leaving them with four home matches in their final six matches. It is not the easiest of run-ins for the Welsh outfit, with Manchester City and Chelsea still to come after this, so defeat this afternoon and all of a sudden the pressure is back on for games against Bournemouth, Southampton and Stoke City.
Alternatively, victory today and the Swansea could find themselves seven points clear of the relegation zone with five matches left to play - a hefty enough margin to perhaps see attention switch to a possible top-half finish. That is pretty remarkable when you think just how grim the situation looked for Swansea three or four months back, almost completely written off as relegation fodder by many.
Swansea head into this match on the back of four successive home wins in the Premier League, beating Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley and West Ham United here since going down 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on January 2. Sixteen points from a possible 30 home and away since then is a great return, matching the number of points accrued from the entire first half of the season. Now they need another couple of wins to drag themselves to safety.
The Swans have not won five consecutive home matches in the top flight since 1981 when doing so in their opening five games of the season at Vetch Field. Carvalhal has now won seven of his nine games in all competitions at the Liberty Stadium since taking over; the only two losses in that period coming to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and FA Cup. Maintain that form and they will stay up with a little time to spare.
Their home form has been impressive, but Swansea are currently winless in three - their worst run under Carvalhal - and will not want that to extend to a fourth match as Crystal Palace and Huddersfield Town below them have winnable matches today. Had Southampton held on when two goals ahead against Chelsea a little earlier, things would have been even more interesting at the bottom end of the division.
Swansea City have won seven of their nine home matches since Carlos Carvalhal replaced Paul Clement at the end of December. From being written off as relegation certainties to potentially being seven points clear of the dropzone come 5pm today, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the Welsh outfit and you would fancy them to stay up from this position.
The Toffees have their eyes on seventh place, meanwhile, which is currently eight points out of reach after playing a game more than Burnley. Allardyce has achieved his minimum target of keeping the Merseyside outfit away from the relegation zone following a dismal start to the campaign, and a top-half finish would hardly be the worst finish, but there is no doubt that more was expected from 2017-18 than this.
The style of play has proved to be a big problem for supporters, and results have not been all that impressive truth be told. The ambitious owners have a huge call to make in the coming weeks - stick with Allardyce or turn to a third manager in the space of a year, with Marco Silva and Paulo Fonseca the names in the frame. Finishing seventh would surely be enough to keep Allardyce in the job for another 12 months; likely enough for Everton to play Europa League football next term.
Burnley and Leicester City, the two teams directly above Everton, face off in one of the other 3pm kickoffs so the Toffees have a chance to make up ground on at least one of those sides - ideally Burnley. Allardyce's men went into the recent international break on a bit of a high following back-to-back wins over Brighton & Hove Albion and Stoke City, but they have since picked up one point from the six on offer.
More than that, though, it continues to be the manner of Everton's displays that is upsetting supporters. They rolled over for the visit of Man City, for example, having already suffered heavy losses to Arsenal and Tottenham this year, and barely registered an attempt until the final quarter of their meeting with Liverpool last time out. Allardyce can argue that a point was a good return, yet the Reds fielded a weak squad.
Four wins from 15 since Christmas time reflects the negative mood around Goodison Park, even accounting for the point against Liverpool, with 16 points from a possible 45 in that time - seventh really was there for the taking. Everton do have a favourable run-in to see things through, though, with games against Swansea, Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town, Southampton and West Ham United, so Allardyce will not give up on seventh just yet.
DID YOU KNOW? Everton have managed just 57 shots on target since Sam Allardyce was appointed as manager in November - the only team with fewer in that period are today's opponents Swansea City, with 51 efforts to their name. The Toffees have 38 Premier League goals for the season - 12 more than the Swans, who are the joint-lowest scorers along with West Bromwich Albion and Huddersfield Town.
Being more direct has to be the target for Everton in these remaining matches, each of which they will consider themselves favourites to win. Their recent win at Stoke was just their second away from home all season, however, and they have not won back-to-back on their travels since September 2016. For that to end a big performance is required from winger Walcott, who has been directly involved in just one goal in his last eight outings.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Swansea City have lost just one of their last seven Premier League meetings with Everton, winning two and drawing four of those. The Toffees have shipped only three goals in six visits to the Liberty Stadium, and never more than once in a match. A betting man would point towards a low-scoring draw this afternoon, then!
With kickoff in South Wales now less than five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Carlos Carvalhal: "We need points, we have to achieve points to stay in the league, the last game we talked about we had one. This is at home, we are stronger at home, our fans support a lot and give more energy to our team so we expect to perform well and fight for the three points. We know Everton have fantastic players and a good manager but we are optimistic, we have trained very well."
Sam Allardyce: "The players can't become complacent. Your levels can't drop against Swansea. You're meeting a team facing the drop and the crowd will come to get behind them. Our difficulties have been away from home and we need to try and put together a performance like we did at Stoke last time. I hope the weather isn't as bad - but we have to get a result. The home form has been fantastic but we have to maintain away results."
"The home form has been fantastic," says Allardyce, despite the heavy loss to Man City and pretty disappointing display in last week's goalless draw with Liverpool. That may be a harsh assessment, but the ex-England boss needs to do more than simply maintain mediocrity if he is to succeed at Goodison Park. Carvalhal is under far less pressure at the Liberty Stadium, meanwhile, although defeat today and all of a sudden things become a little more nervy for his side.
KICKOFF! Everton get us up and running in South Wales. A bright enough start made by the visitors, who knock the ball around on the edge of the box from kickoff before losing possession without getting a shot away.
We wondered what system Swansea would go with, well we know appear to have our answer. Narsingh is high up the pitch alongside Jordan and Andre Ayew, so it will be a 4-3-3 formation for the hosts.... for now, at least!
Swansea starting to settle down now as the ball is worked to Jordan Ayew just inside the box. The returning forward could not quite make clear contact with his shot, though, with Gueye doing well to get back and send the ball behind for a corner.
King with a shot block from the resulting corner, as the Swans press for a breakthrough goal. Cenk Tosun almost played through on goal at the other end, but the intended through-ball could not quite find the intended target.
Swansea looking by far the more threatening side early on, sending a ball into the box that Jordan Ayew could not quite get on the end of. Everton desperately clear their lines but the home side, in need of three points, come again.
A couple of early goals up and down the country already, with Palace taking the lead against Brighton and Burnley edging in front against Leicester. Added incentive for both Swansea and Everton to find a breakthrough goal here.
SAVE! Swansea asking plenty of questions so far at the Liberty Stadium. Good play from Andre Ayew, who lays off the ball for Ki Sung-yeung to send a pretty flat attempt on target - simple stop for Pickford down the middle.
Swansea, quite simply, just look as though they want this one more. Everton yet to get going, whereas the home side are first to every challenge - bar a decent tackle form Rooney seconds ago - and putting some good moves together.
Better from the Toffees, as Baines offers an option on the overlap and gets a cross into the box that is cleared away. Still just that one tame Ki attempt on target at the Liberty Stadium as we edge towards the 20-minute mark.
Swansea with 65% of the ball so far here, and they have put together some decent attacking moves. A Naughton slip allowed Bolasie to turn over possession, but the winger did not really make the most of the situation when the space opened up.
Another shot from Ki, the latest of which is a real shocker. The ball is hammered high and wide from 20 yards, with Pickford happy to watch it sail past. Swansea need to start making the most of this early dominance on home soil.
CHANCE! Rooney's corner is deep. Keane could not get to it and Tosun's blasted cross went right through the box. Swansea counter and Jordan Ayew took down the pass in the box but saw his shot hit Baines and deflect wide.
OFF THE LINE! Swansea really starting to turn the screw now. From the resulting corner, Federico Fernandez's header was cleared off the line by Cenk Tosun. Andy King hammered the follow-up over the crossbar from an angle.
Jordan Ayew really should have been scoring from that early chance, coming from a three-on-two counter in Swansea's favour. Fernandez was a tad unlucky, meanwhile, with Tosun simply finding himself well positioned on the line to block the ball.
SAVE! Allardyce needs to change things because Swansea are running riot at the moment. Jordan Ayew with a nice little flick into the path of brother Andre, who had just Pickford to beat. A poor finish in the end, hitting the ball right at the Everton keeper.
The only negative for Carvalhal is that his side have yet to take the lead. They have now had three good chances to do so, but a couple of poor finishes and a goal-line clearance from Tosun ensures that it remains all square here.
Everton just happy to take the sting out of the game over the past couple of minutes. They have offered next to nothing in an attacking sense thus far, but Walcott has just had a shot blocked inside the area to offer a sign of better things to come.
After a spell of sustained Everton possession, Narsingh is given a chance to charge forward on the counter. The winger did well but his cross towards Ayew in the middle was disappointing, giving the visitors a chance to recover.
SAVE! A first save of the afternoon for Lukasz Fabianski to make - and a simple one it was too, as he barely had to break stride to get behind Yannick Bolasie's shot. Everton need to use that to build some momentum.
Narsingh is currently receiving some treatment to what appears to be an ankle injury. The winger will look to shake this one off, but if not Nathan Dyer has been sent out to warm up. Carvalhal will hope to at least hold out until half time.
Possession is now split at 50-50 after a brighter showing from Everton over the past five minutes. The Toffees are fortunate to still be on level terms as we edge towards half time, and a big improvement is required in the second 45.
Keane outjumps Mawson to cause some panic in the Swansea box from a deep Rooney delivery. Walcott then blocked off Fabianski to give the centre-back a second bite of the cherry, but he could not find the target with either headed attempt.
GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 0-1 EVERTON (KYLE NAUGHTON, OG)
A truly bizarre own goal gives Everton the lead against the run of play here. Yannick Bolasie's shot was kept out by Lukasz Fabianski, Idrissa Gueye followed up and Fabianski again saved, before it hit Kyle Naughton and crossed the line. Alfie Mawson tried his best to keep it out to no avail.
HALF TIME: SWANSEA CITY 0-1 EVERTON
A further blow for Swansea City at the end of the first half, as Luciano Narsingh was unable to shake off that earlier knock and has now made his way down the tunnel. Everton, against the run of play, have a half-time lead through a Kyle Naughton own goal.
Seeking a first win in four matches, Swansea looked by far the better side prior to Everton's opener against the run of play. Ki Sung-yeung had a couple of decent openings early on, sending one straight at Jordan Pickford and another high and wide, while Jordan Ayew controlled a pass in the box at the end of a counter but saw his shot hit Leighton Baines and trickle wide.
From the resulting corner Swansea came even closer, as Federico Fernandez got his head to the ball and saw it kept off the line by Cenk Tosun. Jordan Ayew, back in the side today following a three-match ban, flicked the ball into the path of brother Andre for the Swans' next clear-cut chance, which the forward failed to convert from a one-on-one position.
Everton started to see a little more of the ball as the first half wore on and finally had an effort on target 36 minutes in through a tame Yannick Bolasie shot. Despite being second best up until that point, though, it was the Toffees who took a narrow lead into the break thanks to a bizarre own goal shortly before the interval. Bolasie's shot was kept out by Lukasz Fabianski, as was Idrissa Gueye's follow-up, but the loose ball hit Kyle Naughton and crossed the line, despite Alfie Mawson's best efforts on the line.
BENCH WATCH!
SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Nordfeldt, Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Roberts, Dyer, Routledge, Abraham
EVERTON SUBS: Joel, Martina, Niasse, Funes Mori, Davies, Vlasic, Baningime
RESTART! We are back under way at the Liberty Stadium, where Nathan Dyer has been introduced in place of Luciano Narsingh, who we saw limp down the tunnel at the end of the first half. Big 45 minutes ahead for the hosts!
SAVE! Jordan Pickford at full stretch to out Tom Carroll's headed effort. It was placed towards the bottom corner and the goalkeeper did well to not only keep it out but also collect it with both hands. Bright start for the Swans.
The ball from a Kyle Naughton long throw is only half-cleared to Andy King on the edge of the box, but he gets his contact wrong and it flies over the crossbar. Everton having to sit back a fair bit in the early stages of the second half.
SAVE! Really good passing move from the Swans, culminating in Andre Ayew cutting in on his right boot, holding off Leighton Baines and testing Jordan Pickford with another on-target attempt. Not sure how City are behind here.
Everton cannot keep their foot on the ball at the moment, which proved the case for most of the first half. The Toffees being given chances to counter now, though, in what has been an end-to-end contest since the restart.
YELLOW CARD! Baines with a nice free kick, sent just in front of Keane and Tosun. Everton at least get a corner from it, which the Swansea are able to deal with in a straightforward manner. Jordan Ayew with a bad challenge to earn a yellow card.
That Jordan Ayew challenge was a nasty one, not too dissimilar to the one on Jonathan Hogg last month for which he was handed a three-match ban. The Toffees now getting balls into the box, the latest of which Gueye nods wide.
Swansea started the second half well enough but since then Everton have edged things. An hour now on the clock, Carvalhal and Allardyce must use their back-up options wisely in this delicately-poised contest in South Wales.
The game has gone a little sloppy all of a sudden, which will no doubt favour Everton - they are the side in the lead, after all. Swansea have lost the momentum they had built up; now may be a good time to make a second change.
Swansea win a corner from Seamus Coleman, which Carroll headed goalwards from the second attempt. It did not find its way through to Pickford, though, and Everton were able to clear the ball away. City preparing a second sub...
SWANSEA CITY SUB! A sub that I am sure many of those in the ground would also have made at this point - Tammy Abraham, fresh on the back of his goal last weekend, replaces Ki Sung-yeung in attack with 25 minutes to play.
Substitute Tammy Abraham will play through the middle to provide the Swans with a different option. As things stand the hosts will drop down to 17th place in the table, albeit still four points above the relegation zone.
Constant Swansea pressure over the past four minutes or so since that change, without being able to create anything of note. Good defending from Everton to clear each ball as it arrives in the area, but it could be a long 20 minutes ahead.
EVERTON SUB! Idrissa Gueye obviously still not 100% fit so his afternoon ends a little prematurely. Youngster Beni Baningime is on in his place in what is essentially a like-for-like change in the engine room.
GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 1-1 EVERTON (JORDAN AYEW)
It has been coming! Swansea's top scorer delivers when it matters most, as Jordan Ayew chests down Tom Carroll's pass and buries it past Jordan Pickford. Everton simply could not clear their lines from the Swansea corner and have been made to pay.
OFF THE BAR! Good reaction from Everton to being pegged back. Seamus Coleman's first-time effort from six yards at the end of a Cenk Tosun cross crashed back off the crossbar. Great movement from the full-back in a central position.
EVERTON SUB! Ramiro Funes Mori is on for his first Everton appearance of the season following a long-term layoff. Yannick Bolasie is the player to make way so it will likely mean a change of system for the visiting side.
CHANCE! Big, big chance for Tammy Abraham to bag a second for the Swans. Jordan Ayew knocked Tom Carroll's deep free kick back towards the penalty spot, where the substitute striker was waiting to sweep the ball over the bar.
Both teams have tweaked formations now and they have both had good chances come and go to find what would likely be a winner - Coleman hitting the crossbar from his volley and Abraham blasting over the bar from a good position.
Into the final seven minutes at the Liberty Stadium and both teams are looking to grab all three points. They may be at different ends of the table but Swansea and Everton need the win for different reasons this afternoon.
EVERTON SUB! Sam Allardyce is a brave man... he's just taken off Wayne Rooney again, despite the furore that surrounding last week's sub. Nikola Vlasic is on in his place for Everton's third and final change of the contest.
Everton win a free kick in a good crossing position but they cannot carve out that killer chance that they are desperate for. Even the Toffees' breakthrough goal came via an own goal, so chances have been at a premium for them today.
Still time for a winner at the Liberty Stadium as we enter the final minute of normal time. Carvalhal is holding off for making his final change of the afternoon, as he urges his side on for a winning goal - one that he will argue would be deserved.
Into the first minute of added time and there does not appear to be a way through for either side. A point apiece will not be wildly celebrated by either camp, but the Toffees will arguably be the happier as they have created very little today.
FULL TIME: SWANSEA CITY 1-1 EVERTON
A point apiece in the end, then, which does not suit either side too much. Swansea City deserved all three, but after falling behind to a Kyle Naughton own goal at the end of the first half they left themselves with too much to do, and the draw does at least edge them slightly closer to another campaign of Premier League football.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the Liberty Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from this and the day's other top-flight fixtures will be available elsewhere on the site shortly. Thanks for joining!
