Everton will face off versus Wolves at Molineux at 3PM GMT. Will Everton end their run of losses or will Wolves continue their great form?
Everton rewind
Everton welcomed the newly-crowned Club World Cup champions Manchester City to Goodison Park for a midweek match. The match would start off as expected with City on the front foot. City would keep Pickford busy for the first 23 minutes of the match but eventually Everton would be rewarded for their high press and counter attacking prowess. McNeil would find his pressing fruitful after he pickpocketed the ball off a City defender and found Harrison dead in front of goal. GOAL!
The remainder of the first half would be all City with Everton having chances far and few between. Harrison did have a decent shot off of a corner but Ederson would take flight to prevent a 2-0 scoreline. The second half would not be in favor of the Toffees as it only would take City seven minutes to find an equalizer. Foden hit a decently placed shot that would beat Pickford near post.
Not even 10 minutes later, City would be awarded a dodgy, controversial penalty. It seems the league has inconsistencies with their interpretation of a handball. Alvarez would step up in the 63′ and put the ball under Pickford to add to their lead. In the 75’ with the game still being 1-2, Harrison sent in a low driven pass into Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who just narrowly missed it.
With the minutes counting down and opportunities dwindling, Pickford would attempt to send a ball forward but under pressure. His pass was deflected and the ball found Silva just outside the back who placed the ball into an empty net. The game would end 1-3 to City. 
Wolves go to Brentford!
Wolves would open the scoring just 13 minutes in after Sarabia delivered a peach of a ball to the head of Lemina, a beautiful bit of football. Less than one minute later, Hwang would intercept a back pass intended for Flekken, it looked as if Flekken was a bit slow to react to the weak back pass. After a bit of sustained attacking pressure and a bit of luck on the bounce, Wissa would find the back of the net and half the deficit.
Hwang would add another making it 1-3 through a nice Toti Gomes headed clearance that found Hwang just outside the box all alone, Hwang would do the rest. Wolves would seek to add a fourth and be gifted that fourth. Another sloppy backpass picked up by Cunha and drove in and passed to Bellegarde to put the cherry on top. Wolves would take all three points. 
Everton key player
Nathan Patterson was a stand out player versus City, as he handled Grealish as if he were a Sunday league player. Patterson would only miss three passes out of his 20 attempts, a decent tally against such a high pressing unit. Defensively he had over 15 defensive interventions, including four clearances.
Now with Patterson solidifying himself in that Right back position for the time being, he is building confidence and momentum via his newly found form. Patterson is a good defender but a great attacking back. Wolves play a three back that can transition into a five back, so I do expect a bit of resistance going forward but there will be opportunities for him to display his speed, dribbling skills and amazing crosses into the box. 
Wolverhampton Wanderers key player
Matheus Cunha is a great player for Wolves, he has nine goal contributions through 19 matches for Wolves thus far. Cunha is in the 95th percentile for dribble attempts and successful dribbles. He creates opportunities out of thin air and really troubles defenders in 1v1 situations.
He is in the upper percentile for shots taken and shots on target as well. Gary O’neil is quite the opposite of Dyche, Steven Madley for the Athletic said “His philosophy on football is possession-based, high intensity, attacking football and playing out from the back.” Hopefully Everton’s high pressure style of play can prevent Cunha and Wolverhampton from creating dangerous opportunities. 
Final thoughts!
Everton have an opportunity to set their wrongs right. Three losses on the bounce, including the Cup loss to Fulham has left a bad taste in my mouth after that great run of games we had. Call me spoiled but I feel as if we deserve a result from each match. The team plays for the badge and they leave it all on the field. Wolves are not ready for a Dyche masterclass!
About The Author
Leave a Reply