Everton v Southampton: can the Blues finish strongly?
In their last home game of the season Everton face Southampton this afternoon in the penultimate match of this Premier League campaign.
After a very forgettable season Everton need to put in a good performance to round off the campaign at home. So how can the Blues finish the season strongly and beat the Saints?
Tomorrow’s opponents are coming into the match having enjoyed a hugely important win over south coast rivals Bournemouth last weekend.
The Saints have not experienced the often talked about ‘new manager bounce’ under boss Mark Hughes but they had to get a win from last weekend’s game and they did.
That result, given others too, gave them a real chance of escaping relegation. They will be coming to Goodison Park full of confidence and renewed determination.
And although Everton have a good record this season at the grand old lady, recent performances have not exactly got Blues fans off their seats in excitement.
Not surprisingly given their struggles this season Southampton do not rate highly in most respects. They are weak offensively and defensively, finding goals hard to come by and conceding plenty in turn.
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In particular the Saints are vulnerable to counter-attacks, long shots and are also prone to individual errors.
They also find it hard to hold onto a lead and Everton are good at coming back in games.
Their key player in last weekend’s win was Dusan Tadic, with whom the Toffees have recently been linked.
He has had a fairly subdued season overall, like most of his teammates, but is a threat both making and scoring goals.
One thing Southampton do reasonably well is keep hold of the ball, they average over 50% possession. So the Toffees need to be sharp and aggressive in the tackle and look to win the ball quickly and early.
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Overall then Everton should certainly be able to beat Southampton. Let’s hope that the Blues can finish at home with a strong, positive performance and give the Goodison faithfull something they deserve after a really disappointing season.