Form
23/09/18 – Arsenal 2-0 Everton (PL)
16/09/18 – Everton 1-3 West Ham (PL)
01/09/18 – Everton 1-1 Huddersfield (PL)
29/08/18 – Everton 3-1 Rotherham (Carabao Cup)
25/08/18 – Bournemouth 2-2 Everton (PL)
Tactics
Everton play a 4-2-3-1 and transition to a high pressing 4-4-2 defensively. Gylfi Sigurdsson leads the high press from the front, then drops back in the attack to either Calvert-Lewin or Cenik Tosun. The heart and soul of Everton is their defensive midfielder in Idrissa Gueye. He has a free reign to pressure at will, causing as much compactness as possible. It has to be said that on paper it’s quite the lineup that they bring with the likes of the pacey, seasoned winger, Theo Walcott, on the right and the well-proven signing of Richarlison on the left. The weakness of the side is primarily breaking through the middle of the park, if Gueye can be beat that is. In the Arsenal match, he was paired up with captain Tom Davies, who drops back further, and holds more of the traditional CDM role.
Battle to Watch
Richarlison v Fosu-Mensah: Fosu-Mensah had a solid match against Watford and was able to match up well against Pereyra, keeping the tricky midfielder at bay the majority of the game. In addition, Fosu-Mensah’s stability on the ball led to some good outlets and his fitness was well on display as he raced up and down the sidelines, well within the demand of Jokanovic’s overlapping full-back system. Richarlison is in good form, and despite losing to Arsenal, he looked the sharpest as he would cut inside as much as he could, but also held off one of the better Arsenal defenders in Bellerin. Everton do not take chances defensively, and that means Richarlison drops back and remains tucked in, which may give the wider play of Fosu-Mensah to expose the midfielder as much as possible.
Danger Man
Richarlison has to be the man to watch here. He’s got 3 goals to his name, and the midfielder is definitely showing signs of wanting more. He was able to cut in at will against Bellerin and the Arsenal defence, and release some shots on frame. The Brazilian is quite skilled on the ball, and his tendency to show up anywhere on the pitch is one that the struggling Fulham defence is going to have to be aware of.
Last 5 Meetings
30/03/14 – Fulham 1-3 Everton (PL)
14/12/13 – Everton 4-1 Fulham (PL)
24/09/13 – Fulham 2-1 Everton (League Cup)
27/04/13 – Everton 1-0 Fulham (PL)
03/11/12 – Fulham 2-2 Everton (PL)
Head-to-Head
Fulham wins 19
Draws 13
Everton wins 29
Stats & Facts
- The two clubs have met on 52 occasions in the league. With 28 victories, Everton have won twice as many as Fulham’s 14 while there have been 10 draws. In contrast, Fulham have lost just 1 of the 9 meetings between the clubs in cup competitions.
- Fulham have won only 1 of the last 11 meetings with Everton in all competitions, a 2-1 home success in the League Cup five years ago this week. Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent were on target as the Whites came from behind in the second half to progress to a 4th Round tie at Leicester.
- Everton have won the last 21 league meetings against Fulham at Goodison Park. It is the longest winning run against one single opponent in English football history.
- Fulham have never won a league game at Goodison Park. They last avoided defeat in Sept 1959 with a goalless draw, one of 4 stalemates they have managed in their 26 league visits.
- Fulham’s last win at Goodison Park came in the FA Cup 5th Round in Feb 1975 as Viv Busby’s double helped the visitors to a 2-1 victory against the then-Division One leaders. Three months later, the Cottagers would play at Wembley for the first time in the final but they would not return to the national stadium again until this year.
Players in Common
Peter Beardsley, Paul Bracewell, John Coleman, John Collins, Olivier Dacourt, Simon Davies, Luke Garbutt, Marcus Hahnemann, Johnny Heitinga, Andy Johnson, Brian McBride, Mark Pembridge, Gerry Peyton, Terry Phelan, Tomasz Radzinski, Louis Saha, Phillipe Senderos, Maarten Stekelenburg.
Opposition View (@Max_Carlyle)
What’s the general feeling towards Silva so far from the fans, are you happy with the appointment?
Happy wouldn’t be the right word. After going through 3 different managers last season, I’m relieved the players have taken to Silva- even though results haven’t followed suit with just one win in six in the league, but it’s good to see us play with an identity again.
Are you happy with your start to the season?
Yes- me and most fans included are happy with Silva. There have been a few moaners following the run of poor results but to me, that’s just life under a new manager. He’s young and has a clear vision of how the game should be played, give him a few more transfer windows and he should be able to mould the team how he wants it.
What were your expectations going into the season?
My expectations for this season were solely to look like a team again. It became so dysfunctional and toxic under Allardyce and we got a real glimpse of how soul-crushing football can be. In terms of where we finish, solidifying 7th place again would be a step in the right direction, we’re still a good while off from challenging Champions League- a domestic trophy would be a godsend, but we say that every year.
Are you aware of Fulham’s ridiculously bad record at Goodison Park? 26 league games, 0 wins, 22 defeats and no points since 1959!
I knew Fulham’s record at our place was bad, just not that bad! 1959?! West Ham picked up just their second win at Goodison in 11 years a fortnight ago… So you may be in for a surprise.
How do you think the game will pan out on Saturday and what’s your predicted lineup/score?
Fulham are a cracking side to watch, I’m glad they’re back in the Premier League. Schurrle, Seri, Vietto, Mitrovic are all exciting players too. If we can keep them quiet and play on the front foot it’d be ideal- but it’s never that simple with Everton. I think Fulham have just too many good quality players to not take it to us at some point. I’m going to go for 2-1 Everton, although I’m not confident.
Predicted lineup?
Pickford, Kenny, Keane, Zouma, Digne, Scheiderlin, Gueye, Sigurdsson, Bernard, Richarlison, Walcott.
Match prediction
This is a tough match we’re going to have. Despite losing 2-0 to Arsenal, there were moments in which Everton should have scored and almost looked like the better team at times. We have faced teams that high press before, so that should be nothing new here, but what will be different is a free-ranging defensive midfielder in Gueye who will cover every blade of grass. This may work for or against us, but the confidence Marco Silva has shown with Tom Davies to sit back as deep as he does tells me they have an emphasis to remain in their shape even if Gueye has that freedom. On our side of the ball, I would say that it all depends on the centre-back pairing. Last week, Mawson was replaced with Odoi at halftime, who had a solid showing. Most Fulham followers want the return of Tim Ream to be the next shuffle, but it will depend on whether or not Jokanovic believes the American is ready for Premier League action, let alone facing off in an environment like Goodison Park will bring. In the attack, we actually have some good momentum after the Watford performance. Luciano Vietto is growing in confidence, and assisting Mitrovic in dramatic fashion only bolstered it further. It should not be long until he finds the back of the net himself. I keep saying he’s going to get one, so why not predict he pops up on the back post after Fosu-Mensah beats Richarlison and Digne down the flank and sends it in? Get in!
The scoreline, as much as I want to be bold (much good that did against Man City), I’m predicting a 1-1 draw here. I think that would be a fair result for us. The key will be if we can withstand the pressure for the first 15-20 mins of the match. Everton know we are shuffling our centre backs and trying to sort out how we spent all this money on them, yet Dennis Odoi is putting up better performances than all of them combined. I’m hoping for a Ream-Odoi combo, but will not be surprised to see Chambers over Ream. Regardless, a result away from home, and gradual points up the table will be welcomed. COYW!!
Predicted Line-Up
