This weekend Everton return to action for the first time since the closing of the transfer window and their opponent could not be more apt after the whirlwind of a summer surrounding John Stones and Chelsea.
The champions head to Goodison on a relatively poor run of form which has seen two defeats, one draw and just one close win against lowly West Brom, so Everton couldn’t have picked a better time to play the London club.
Or could they? There is most definitely a risk of a Chelsea rebound and Everton are going to have be to be on their toes and set up intelligently with their tactics.
In the Toffees last home game against Manchester City they controlled possession and never really looked too uncomfortable despite losing 2-0, but if they are to be successful on Saturday they will have to be even sharper. It is most likely that Everton will dominate possession again this weekend but how they use that possession will determine the outcome.
If they play two of their pacy wingers such as Deulofeu, Mirallas or Lennon large chunks of possession may be less useful as their best football comes when running at/in behind opposition defences, and the possession game makes this more difficult. The other thing that could infuriate Evertonians would be to put two of Barkley, Naismith or Kone on the wings – these players do suit the possession game more but the real question is what system suits the game.
If Everton are confident they can contain Chelsea fairly comfortably then the pacy counter-attack style has got to be deployed as it allows their most creative and generally superior players to be on the pitch and in their element, but with uncertainty at left-back, which seems almost inevitable, will containing Chelsea be possible?
In contrast the more dull, and to the minds of some Evertonians, considerably weaker option is to play a possession-based game – not many Blues would object to this style as Kone has undergone a recent mini revival. However the only player capable of filling the void vacated by the injured Cleverley effectively would be Barkley, which would in turn see Steven Naismith start the game, and a supporting trio of Naismith, Kone and out of position Barkley seems ludicrous in any attempt to win.
But with Chelsea’s defence regularly showing signs of weakness this style could be of use, especially with Kone and Naismith making the types of forward thinking runs into the box which come so naturally to them.
Come 11:45 on Saturday when the team is announced, I won’t be surprised to see either of the systems in place, nor would I be surprised to see a change of system if it wasn’t working. Either way Everton will still have to give 100% as Chelsea still have numerous dangerous players and sooner or later they will kick into gear and anything less than full commitment may be the push they need. Hopefully we can get the win and start September with a respectable return.
