Reigning champions and current league leaders Manchester City come to Goodison Park on Saturday tea-time to face an Everton side in desperate need of points to keep their heads above the relegation zone.
In any circumstance, this would be an extremely difficult game for Frank Lampard and Everton, but the fact that City lost to Spurs last weekend and have seen their lead at the top of the Premier League suddenly drop to three points over Liverpool the need for City to win is very apparent.
While City has their own concerns, these pale into insignificance with Everton and their close proximity to the relegation zone. Results last weekend certainly did not help Everton with only Norwich picking up no points aside from themselves after the defeat at Southampton.
Midweek results were more mixed with Leeds being thrashed at Anfield, Burnley winning again and Watford being easily beaten by Crystal Palace. This all means however that Everton could find themselves in the relegation zone come kick off time against City if Burnley wins earlier in the day.
While Evertonians may well have passed up the points to ensure the neighbours don’t get closer to being top of the table, this has to be null and void as the need for points is critical at Goodison Park.
In this article, we will look at where City are most dangerous, but also, as Spurs proved last weekend, where their vulnerability at the back can be taken advantage of.
From an Everton point of view, it will certainly need some change of personnel and mindset from another away day disappointment, plus Lampard has some options with a couple of injured players back. Surely the midfield will need reinforcing and sharpness in attack is key.
While neither team will have their league position finalised by this game, it certainly feels that whoever gets the three points will take a big step in the right direction after going backwards last week.
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Silva & De Bruyne hold the cards, but can Everton exploit the spaces
1. City look to bounce back
The last time Manchester City lost to Spurs on the first day of the season they won the next two games both 5-0, but I’m sure Lampard and Everton will know this team can take apart anyone on their day.
City also comfortably beat the Toffees 3-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. On that day the Everton tactics were dire and very negative from Rafa Benitez, I expect they will risk more than they did then.
First of all, let’s have a look at how City will tackle the Goodison atmosphere, which is now a factor and the tea-time kick off means it will be extra lively, and their own formation.
Pep Guardiola does not change too much with formation and style, and why would you when you’re the best in England and probably Europe. He usually likes a fluid 4-1-2-3 and always the question is who takes that central forward position.
Gabriel Jesus has been a thorn in Everton’s side more than most during his time at City, he has been out injured this month but has returned to training. However, Guardiola may decide against risking him with so many games to play still this season.
It will likely be a three up the top of Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez if form is anything to go by. Jack Grealish has been missing with injury of late also so is unlikely to make the game at Goodison Park.
The midfield two is where City dominant and win games usually, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne or Ilkay Gundogan dominate possession and their movement means the opposition finds it so hard to track them. Plus their passing ability is up there with the best in the world.
Rodri will likely sit behind them and in front of the back four, he scored a screamer against Everton in the game at the Etihad earlier in the season.
The back four is like the forward line the most changed personnel if everyone is fit, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker have been the mainstays at full back. While Ruben Diaz is the defensive lynchpin at centre back it has been a revolving door between John Stones and Aymeric Laporte alongside him. Ederson of course will be in goal for City and his distribution with his feet is as key as what he does with his hands.
Last week Spurs exploited the high City line and if Walker is caught upfield then the City defence lacks pace to keep up with any speedy wingers. Harry Kane had his best game in some time and his first time reverse balls into the channels really caused City problems.
Everton can also expose this but it will require someone to play that Kane role, we will examine that in the following pages.
The other area City can be exposed is set pieces and I am sure Paul Clement, the Everton coach, will have been working on these. Ederson tends to stay on his line and if you can miss Dias and his centre back partner then City do have a lack of height to defend these situations.
At the other end, Everton will need Jordon Pickford to have a nine or ten out of ten games like he had at Chelsea earlier in the season, plus more possession than they mustered at the Etihad earlier in the season where it hardly got over 20% at any point in the game.
You must not allow De Bruyne, Gundogan and Silva to dominate the ball too much and cut out the balls dinked in behind and between the full back and centre back. Spurs did this very well last week and Everton will need everyone to be on their game defensively. With City lacking any out and out striker they can get frustrated if they don’t score early.
Also, City’s record from coming from behind is far worse than even Everton’s this season. When they have gone behind in the Premier League they have only managed to beat Arsenal in the last minute and rescue draws at Liverpool and Southampton. Defeats to Spurs twice and Crystal Palace have happened when conceding first.
While it won’t be easy, I can remember the days back in David Moyes heyday when City used to always leave Goodison with nothing more than bruised egos and no doubt the atmosphere will be more like those days to put even more pressure on City’s elite squad.
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Young full backs deserve chance as Lampard needs to see all of his options
2. Everton need to freshen up in defence
After the impressive home display by all in the victory against Leeds United, Lampard decided to name an unchanged line up on the south coast last weekend. While I would not blame this on the end result, it certainly proved the Leeds performance for some was a rarity rather than the norm.
Jonjoe Kenny was selected at left back again despite him being an out and out right footer, and while he performed well against Leeds he was back to type against Southampton. One pass that he tried with the outside of his right foot instead of using his left and just went straight out of play summed up the abject display from most in a blue shirt.
Surely Vitalii Mykolenko has to come back into consideration against City as they will not allow you the time to switch inside onto your favourite foot and Mykolenko’s distribution is better in tight areas. In a game with not much expectation of getting a result it would be great for him to play and also help to take his mind off the dreadful situation in his Ukrainian homeland, a banner, seen below, will be displayed before tomorrow’s game.
https://twitter.com/CapitalLivNews/status/1497217166055194629?s=20&t=dP1pMz9JPmh1VqgGeR4ypw
Over on the other flank Seamus Coleman will likely hold on to his spot against this opposition but like Kenny his performance against Southampton was poor and will put doubts in Lampard’s mind that he can perform consistently for the rest of the season. Nathan Patterson will be given an opportunity in the FA Cup game next week, a good display there and he could well keep his place.
The centre back pairing is unlikely to be changed, not because Michael Keane or Mason Holgate played well last week but there is a lack of options due to injuries. Youngster Jarrad Branthwaite, like Patterson, will likely see a chance against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup next week.
Ben Godfrey is back in individual training so for the following league game against Spurs so then Lampard can change the centre back partnership.
It is highly unlikely Lampard would consider a back five against City as they do not play an out and out central striker which would leave defenders being pulled out of position, against City it is far better to have more numbers in midfield to contain De Bruyne, Gundogan and Silva.
Fortunately, Holgate’s poor headed clearances should be not seen on Saturday, several were unfortunately witnessed at Southampton last week, as City will keep the ball on the floor most of the game.
I’d be very surprised to see the back four unchanged again as players look to show Lampard why they deserve a place in the team, those who did last week certainly did the opposite.
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Lampard has to pack another into midfield to combat City’s biggest threats
3. Midfield reinforcements required
In our Southampton review, we labelled the Everton midfield in the second half as powder puff with Gomes and Van De Beek over powered by the Saints. Allan received an early booking and was replaced by Gomes at half time which clearly changed the make up of Lampard’s ideal midfield.
Fortunately for Lampard a fix of these issues in midfield can be resolved with the return from injury of Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Surely Lampard will have to go with an extra body in midfield against a City team who will look to play through the lines at every opportunity. So many times Everton’s midfield of two has been overrun against weaker teams than City.
After one of the poorest displays seen in the second half surely, Gomes won’t be included in those plans for an extra midfielder. Allan, Van De Beek and Doucoure would seem to be the way to go as long as Doucoure is deemed fully fit.
This would add a bit of everything and be the best midfield line up Everton have fielded all season. The tenacity and ball winning capabilities of Allan, the power and strength of Doucoure and the passing ability of Van De Beek.
Some Evertonians may say why risk Doucoure in a game where a positive result is so unlikely, but the truth is Lampard will know every game that offers points from now until the end of the season must have it’s strongest line up available. The FA Cup should become the resting game, which can be easily done next week against Boreham Wood.
These three can at least try their best to combat whoever Guardiola picks in the controlling part of City’s midfield two out of De Bruyne, Gundogan and Silva.
It is likely in this midfield three that Van De Beek can be relieved of most defensive duties and perhaps play the role that releases the Everton forwards as Kane did for Spurs last week.
Looking past the City game these three in midfield really hold the key to getting Everton’s away form turned around. The weak and limp performances seen away from Goodison Park need to be stopped, these three can certainly offer more chances for Lampard to improve the away form and take the pressure off these home games.
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Like Spurs last week, Everton must find the chinks in the City armour
4. Everton counter attacks must be clinical
Manchester City do not have many weaknesses, in fact they are the team in the whole of Europe with the least, but last week Spurs showed how you can attack and succeed in open play against the champions.
It’s not the first time Spurs have been successful against City, they have done the double over them this season and beat them in that Champions League classic over two legs back in 2019. The key to this has been to drop 10 players behind the ball when City have possession, but explode up front when they gain it back and can get it into Kane’s feet.
Could Dominic Calvert-Lewin provide Everton with the same type of performance? Probably not as Calvert-Lewin doesn’t like to drop as deep as Kane consistently. Therefore Lampard will need to tweak how Everton could possibly exploit the same weakness.
Teams who succeed against City drop balls in behind and then assess the best situation from there. The question is who can Everton trust to make those decisions on Saturday?
Certainly, it would be harsh to drop Anthony Gordon after his displays this season, but this perhaps is not the game to play the Everton youngster. With Demarai Gray back after missing the last two games and Richarlison starting to get back into form, these two offer Lampard the best options to expose City’s weakness.
The pace of these two can exploit City’s lack of pace at the centre back positions while Calvert-Lewin occupies one of them. The only player who definitely can keep up is Kyle Walker and if you can keep him up the other end of the pitch then Everton will have chances to create space in behind the City defence.
As explained on the previous page Van De Beek will be a key player to play these passes in behind if he is supported by Allan and Doucoure in the middle of the park. While it might not be good to play City after a defeat, it certainly will have helped Lampard spot the weakness and work on this with the players at Finch Farm this week.
We have remarked a couple of times how important it is to get Calvert-Lewin firing again and while this game is tough to do so if Gray and Richarlison can get in behind it will provide him with opportunities to get into the box.
The final ball last week at Southampton was poor, especially in the first twenty minutes when Everton were the better side, you cannot pass up any final third opportunities against City or the game will get beyond you very quickly.
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With Everton’s defence so porous they will need to score more than once for a result
5. Everton will need to score twice to beat Manchester City
Back in the glory David Moyes era it was a regular occurrence to beat Manchester City despite the wealthy Middle Eastern backers being now in situ. The remit for those wins was clean sheets and Tim Cahill to score from crosses or set pieces.
As we fast forward to the current day the remit Lampard requires to do the same is very different. Clean sheets can not be relied upon and he does not have the type of player Cahill was at his disposal.
If you look back at recent meetings with City, Everton have conceded three goals or more on most of these performances. If this happens it is impossible to beat City as you do not have enough of the ball to score more than three. Everton have lost their last eight games against City and only won once in 17 Premier League games.
The key is to get the first goal and keep it tight, or keep getting the next goal as Spurs did last week.
The atmosphere the Evertonians will provide at Saturday tea-time will certainly give the players another boost like recently against Leeds and Brentford. This may not have the same desired effect against City with their experience and know-how, but it can provide inspiration for the players in the royal blue shirts.
If Everton could get the first goal it would keep the passionate Goodison faithful at its loudest and we have seen it in big games before that the opposition can falter when it matters. Guardiola will know this himself as his first game at Goodison astonishingly finished 4-0 when youngsters Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman scored there first goals for the club, that is that one win in 17 games.
The Everton defence will have to have the game of there lives to keep City out completely and I think Everton would have to score twice for any positive result. Can they do this? Yes, they can, but again they will need to get ahead of City to have any chance.
Certainly, this game is more intriguing than it looked a couple of weeks ago. City’s defeat against Spurs has opened up the title race and nerves in the camp maybe a little bit more frayed than anyone would have imagined.
While it has been a mixed start for Lampard, there is no doubt that Everton can get a result at home now against most. The question is can they be against the best in the business? If they can surely Premier League safety will be met, if not it does not actually change too much but it could mean a place in the relegation zone come Saturday night.