Opposition Focus: Everton

Saturday 13th April 2019 @ 3PM

Form

07/04/19 – Everton 1-0 Arsenal
30/03/19 – West Ham 0-2 Everton
17/03/19 – Everton 2-0 Chelsea
09/03/19 – Newcastle 3-2 Everton
03/03/19 – Everton 0-0 Liverpool

Tactics

Everton have been consistent in their formation – if not their form – throughout the season, deploying a 4-2-3-1 with the influence falling heavily on the 3 behind a lone striker to win them games. In defence, both fullbacks in Lucas Digne and Seamus Coleman are very keen to overlap their wingers to provide width and balls into the box. The addition of Andre Gomes, on loan from Barcelona, has provided Everton with a greater level of technical ability in the centre of midfield than they possessed last season, and is well complemented by Idrissa Gueye. The rotation of players at centre back and centre forward tends to vary between games, and Marco Silva has seemingly been unable to settle on the players to fill these positions. Everton have shown their ability to play the ball quickly along the floor – relying on quick combinations and impressive movement to unsettle the opposition defence.

Battle to Watch

Chambers vs Richarlison: Having moved to centre back Chambers has looked decent and the player that a lot have us thought we’d signed at the start of the season. Whether he contain the electric if inconsistent Richarlison will be intriguing to watch and key to determining the outcome of the game.

Danger Man

Everton don’t really have that one standout player that many sides we’ve come up against this year have had. But in Gylfi Sigurdsson they have a fairly unique player with a range of skills that have served him well this season contributing 12 goals and 4 assists so far. Not only so impressive in creating space and finishing chances, an incredible set piece delivery will have preoccupied Scott Parker and the teams’ work on the training ground this week.

Last 5 Meetings

29/09/18 – Everton 3-0 Fulham (PL)
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)

Head-to-Head

Fulham wins 19
Draws 13
Everton wins 30

Stats & Facts

  • Fulham have failed to win any of the last 10 league meetings with Everton since a 2-1 home success in the Premier League in September 2009 when second-half goals from Paul Konchesky and Damien Duff overturned Tim Cahill’s 33rd-minute opener.
  • However, the Whites have won 11 of the last 16 home games against the Toffees including a nine-match winning run between 1967 and 2008.
  • Fulham have dropped 18 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season. Everton, meanwhile, have lost all eight Premier League away games in which they have conceded the opening goal.
  • Fulham have lost their last nine Premier League games. It is their worst ever run of successive defeats in the Premier League-era, and their worst run since a club record 11 straight league defeats in the old Division One between December 1961 and February 1962.

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.

Magic Moment

Thinking about getting out relegation trouble is something we haven’t been able to do for a while but there was a time when it actually happened. Leading up to Everton at home in March of the 2007/08 season we were still in desperate trouble and hadn’t won in four games after a win against Villa at the start of February. But when a burst from Simon Davies down the left-hand side in the second half led to a whipped cross, there are few in Fulham history you would want more to be on the end of it than Brian McBride. Heading the ball down as he ran across the front of the covering defender McBride ended up nodding in a massive goal in front of the Hammersmith End to give just that slightest glimmer of hope that it wasn’t all over after all.

Opposition View (@EvertonNewsFeed)

What are your thoughts on Marco Silva and has he turned a corner after receiving stick earlier in the season?

My overall thoughts on Marco Silva are positive ones, don’t get me wrong we had that hiccup period where things were looking a bit dicey but I think he has pulled it back and I’m over the moon he has. Some small section of Everton fans wanted him gone, some still want him gone and aren’t giving him any praise at all for our recent results and performances which I found bizarre but every club has that group of fans. Majority of Everton fans are tired of the chopping and changing of managers and we just hope that Marco brings that sta

What are your expectations for your final league position? Is it a case of 7th or nothing for this to be seen as a successful season for Silva?

Honestly, if we manage to get 7th, it’d be great work considering we’ve had a very poor season due to that hiccup. But I feel Everton fans aren’t all too fussed where we finish at the end of this season right now. If we manage to get 7th and Europa, amazing, if not; oh well we left it too late and we will do better next season. This is a pure transition season if I’ve ever seen one.

Is Ross Barkley missed at all?

Not in the slightest, genuinely Ross Barkley is probably now up there as one of the most hated players to ever play for the club. Booed throughout pretty much the whole Chelsea game when he returned to Goodison. He clapped the Gwladys Street when coming off and got booed and jeered, if the clap was sarcastic or genuine who knows. But he’s not liked round Everton by the way he left and for what he has said since leaving.

Footballing ability wise he was so hit and miss anyway, he’d had a 7/10 or 8/10 game and then go missing for 5/8 games. When he first come onto the scene everyone was so hyped for him, Moyes never really gave him a go and then in Martinez’s first season he got given a chance and that was probably his best ever season of football. But we don’t really miss him pulling out of the 50/50 challenges and not putting a foot in.

How are the plans for the new stadium coming along and how do you feel about leaving Goodison?

We’re meant to be moving into Bramley Moore somewhere around 2023. (Hopefully, a lot sooner though) No actual official stadium plans have been released either, some plans leaked a couple of months back but apparently, they are old plans. So we are still some distance off.

Leaving Goodison will be a VERY hard thing to do, the history, the memories and the atmosphere that the ground is like no other. Numerous opposition fans have said about how it is one of the last of its kind, that old retro era of football. The architecture, the design. The club are constantly working out how to make sure that when leaving Goodison that they make sure the area around Goodison is going to good use and is a good pillar for the community.

How do you see the game panning out?

Well, we are on a bit of a good run at the minute and we’ve outplayed Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham over the past few weeks. But I don’t want to undermine yourselves, there are a few players in your side that can cause us problems so we will have to be wary.

Score prediction – Like I’ve mentioned with our recent form and performances I am hoping for a 2-1 win. Another clean sheet for Pickford would be welcome though if we manage to keep you out.

Predicted line-up – This is the line up I expect (from left to right); Pickford, Digne, Zouma, Keane, Coleman, Gueye, Gomes, Bernard, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin
 
Michael Keane starting solely depends on if he has recovered from his virus. I know that Jagielka scored and kept a clean sheet last game.

Thanks to John from ‘The Toffee Blues’ podcast for answering our questions.

Match Prediction

Considering we’re at home and have played pretty well against some of the better sides in the league this season it doesn’t seem mad to think there’s the possibility of getting something from the game. Of course, so much depends on what the mentality of the players will be after relegation being confirmed last time out against Watford and whether it has had the liberating effect that some seem to think it will. Honestly, the result doesn’t really seem that important in the purgatory that is the rest of this season but I’m going for 2-1 to Everton.

Predicted Line-up