The mighty(?) ten men of Everton held on for 3 points in a midweek tie against league worst Huddersfield in a needed, if not convincing match that saw an early goal from Richarlison that would end up being the difference. For most of the match Everton simply coasted on the coattails of the first goal, controlling a game that Huddersfield never quite got into. The game changed on a dime when Leighton was subbed off in the 53rd minute with an injury, causing Digne to come on, clearly unprepared for the sub. 13 minutes later Lucas lost his man with his attention solely on the ball and then attempted an egregious tackle from behind, a straight red for a denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity. Everton’s lack of discipline has cost them all seasons, time and time again losing concentration and blowing leads from winning positions. While Huddersfield’s lack of quality ultimately was the difference, Wolves come in 2 points ahead of Everton for 7th place in what is sure to be a matchup where the Blues will have to be on top of the game for a full 90 minutes, so how do the teams stack up?
Wolves come into Saturday in 7th place with a dynamic duo up top in Raul Jimenez and Diego Jota. They are coming off an impressive 3-0 smacking of West Ham, and a 4-3 victory against Leicester thanks to a last gasp winner. Everton come into the game still licking their wounds from the 3-2 loss to Millwall in the cup, looking to regain some form in the league after their win against Huddersfield. Marco Silva will be dealing with a short deck on defense, with Yerry Mina and Leighton Baines set to miss due to injury, and Lucas Dinge sitting out his 1 game suspension for the red card. However, Everton will be very happy to be back home at Goodison, where victories are always much easier to come by than on the road. Wolves have not won on the road since an impressive 3-1 win at Wembley against Tottenham, where they showed some amazing attacking play.
Wolves will look to expose Everton on the wings, Coleman has been less than class at times and both Digne and Baines look to miss out Saturday. Ruben Neves is always lethal from long range in the midfield, and Docherty is a threat to score goals for Wolves aswell. The blues will have to look to play through the center of the field, and Tosun should be featuring after an impressive performance against Huddersfield, and a tidy goal against Millwall. Service will have to be good through the center, Gomes and Sigurdsson will need to have big games. Gueye’s status is unknown but Davies also looked impressive as a starter at Huddersfield, and could be a good attacking fit in the middle of the field.
Prediction: At Goodison Park Everton have to set out to get 3 points every time, and in a game that has huge implications on 7th place, look for both teams to come out aggressive and a tad jittery to start the match. Which ever team comes out and is able to settle down first, will have a big advantage and the first goal will be huge. This one could go either way, as little separates the 2 sides, if Tosun gets decent service and Sigurdsson and Gomes get back to top form, this one is ripe for the taking, even with absences and injuries. This game could go a long way in deciding the final Europa league spot, and Marco Silva will need to get a win in order to restore the faith.
Everton 2-1 Wolves
UTFT
– Jacob (@RitchieJacob625)
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