Everton: 3 Things to watch out for during Brighton vs Everton

A Lack of Possession

This may not sound fun for Everton fans, in their 2-2 draw with Leeds, the Toffees only had 30% possession, with less than half of the passes and almost half of the touches that Leeds had during the 90 minutes. Brighton are another side that love to keep the ball, with the Seagulls currently averaging the third most possession in the Premier League at 60% along with the third most touches, but one positive for Everton is that a majority of these touches take place in Brighton’s own defensive third.

Another positive for Evertonians is that Benitez has turned Everton into a dangerous counter-attacking unit, with new signing Demarai Gray being a standout with his pace and trickery causing real trouble for opposition defences, which saw him grab a goal against Leeds. Players like Gray will be vital against Brighton, as Rafa’s men will need to be deadly on the counter to put away Potter’s free-flowing Brighton side.

Everton will need to play a very focused game, something which they have seemingly struggled with in the past, but under Benitez, the Toffees have shown the ability to dig their heels in and really push back against possession-heavy teams, something which will be vital at the Amex.