Opposition View: Everton

Can you work out Everton out? Can anybody work Everton out? On paper, they look to have a very talented side who should be well placed to challenge for a top six spot, particularly in a season in which Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are all struggling.

And yet they come to the Amex towards the foot of the table, just one place above the Albion and with Marco Silva desperately trying to hang onto his job. Had they not beaten West Ham United last weekend, it’s likely Silva wouldn’t have been in the dugout this Saturday.

How much time does Silva have left? Was that the victory to kick-start Everton’s season? And can anyone stop their rivals from across Stanley Park from lifting the Premier League this season? Those were just some of the questions we put to Lyndon Lloyd from Toffee Web for this week’s opposition fan view.

Everton arrive at the Amex with Marco Silva under a bit of pressure after a disappointing start to the season. What’s the reason behind your stuttering start and are you still backing the manager?
While we Evertonians thought the team had put the struggles that derailed last season over the winter months behind them with a strong run-in to finish 2018-19, they’ve reared their heads again over the first eight games of this season.

Our weakness away from home, inability to break down teams that sit back and employ the low block and the embarrassing vulnerability of Marco Silva’s zonal marking system when defending set-pieces all combined to wreck what was a highly favourable start to the new campaign in terms of the fixture list.

Silva was very much on his last rope with most supporters going into last weekend because he refused to deviate from the same tired system and personnel, but the win over West Ham – one earned with a marked change in key players and approach – has earned him a reprieve. In that respect, his team selection and tactics for this weekend’s trip to the Amex will be hugely important. A reversion to type and the pressure would be back on should we lose.

With Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all faltering, this looks like it could be the year that the top six monopoly is broken. Can you see Everton breaking through that glass ceiling anytime soon?
At the start of the season, we really felt that there was a big crack in the glass ceiling for Everton to exploit because of the inconsistencies at those clubs you mention but after the dog’s dinner we’ve made of the start to 2019-20, it seems a bit of a vain hope unless we can really go on a run.

There has been feeling of Groundhog Day among Blues fans and a lack of faith we’ll ever be able to crack the top six and the Champions League places beyond but as long as we have money to spend, a new stadium in the works and our committed fanbase, anything remains possible!

What are your realistic expectations for the rest of the campaign from this point on?
Again, we’ve had a bit of a reality check and had to realign our expectations for the season a bit but sitting just four points off sixth as we currently are, a challenge for the top six isn’t out of the question. Our biggest focus might be on winning one of the cups now and ending what is now the longest trophy drought in Everton’s history.

What did you make of our two meetings last season? One win apiece was probably just about fair
Our 3-1 win at Goodison Park felt in line with what had been a positive beginning to Silva’s reign and Richarlison’s flying start to life as an Everton player.

The reverse fixture was just one of those predictable away games I mentioned earlier — one where Everton battled to break down what was on paper a weaker team – albeit one with a strong home record – and then lost to a poorly-defended dead-ball situation! As you say, I don’t think you could have argued with either result.

Speaking of last season, we still have nightmares about Richarlison tearing us apart at Goodison Park. Who will be Everton’s danger men at the Amex?
Assuming he starts up front again, Richarlison will be one to look out for again because while he hasn’t scored many this season, his overall contribution has been very important. Alex Iwobi excelled in place of the badly under-performing Gylfi Sigurdsson in the number 10 role against West Ham and we hope he will start there again while Bernard is just a bag of unpredictable tricks who can conjure a goal scoring chance at any moment.

If you had to give Graham Potter one piece of advice to beat Everton, what would it be?
From what I can gather, Potter is instilling a more sophisticated brand of football at Brighton but you still have the aerial threat of Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy in the side who can capitalise on our weaknesses at set-pieces.

Silva may have mostly ditched zonal marking for the first time last weekend in favour of man-to-man, but West Ham very nearly scored off their first corner which suggests the kinks have yet to be worked out. If I’m any opposition manager at the moment, I’d be looking to exploit that.

Who do you think is winning the title this year, finishing in the top four and who’s going down?
It’s looking ominously like the shower across Stanley Park could be heading for a first title in 30 years but, as was shown last season, you can’t rule out Manchester City and Liverpool have been unbelievably lucky with injuries over the past couple of seasons. You’ve got to believe that will end at some point.

So, for the sanity of all Blues, I’ve got to go for City winning the title again, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham edging out Leicester to finish in the top four.

In terms of teams going down, it’s hard to see Norwich surviving but Sheffield United look well equipped to ride it out and stay up. Newcastle and Southampton look vulnerable so maybe one of them goes down with Aston Villa.

Finally, your prediction for Saturday please?
I think it will be a draw. As I say, Potter looks to be going about things in the right way, the hammering of Spurs demonstrated how strong the Seagulls can be at home and Everton routinely struggle away from home.

That said, our players will have been lifted by beating West Ham and as long as Silva keeps the same setup and personnel, we have goals is us so I can see the Blues getting something from this one. 2-2

Thanks to Lyndon for answering our questions. He’s gone for the score draw in his prediction, which funnily enough is what we’ve also predicted in our Match Preview. You can follow Toffee Web on Twitter and give Lyndon a tweet should the Albion manage to upset the apple cart.