The international break is over, and Everton are back. In the midst of England sealing qualification to next summer’s European Championships and the closing of the transfer window (finally), the last week has given us a chance to reflect on the start to the season. Solid if not spectacular was how I described it another article; we’ve had a little bit of everything.
The fixture computer hasn’t been kind, and perhaps 5 points after four games isn’t such a bad return. Two scoreless league outings is cause for concern though, especially with the visit of champions Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime.
The opposition – Chelsea
If you’d have been offered being a point ahead of Chelsea after 4 games at the start of the season, you’d be expecting to be sitting somewhere near the top of the tree. It’s been an uncharacteristically sloppy start to the season though from Mourinho’s side, who find themselves 8 points off the lead already.
The physio row and substituting John Terry at half time against Man City, coupled with the failure of their relentless and very public pursuit of John Stones suggests all is not well at Stamford Bridge.
It’s surely only a matter of time before they turn it around though, although any successful defence of their title is looking increasingly difficult. Things can change very quickly though, and there’s far too much quality in that squad for them to continue to flounder. The arrival of Pedro from Barcelona has only added to that.
What the Managers say
Roberto Martinez – “We are looking forward to facing Chelsea and testing ourselves with the support of our crowd and getting Goodison behind us because when we feel that when that happens we can compete with anyone.
“It’s an early kick-off which always brings a very different atmosphere, but we’ve had very good moments with early kick-offs and last season against Manchester United was a real example of that.
“We’ll have to be at our very best but I do feel that when Goodison is at its best we can perform at a very good level and that’s what we are looking forward to doing.
“The opposition that we’ve been facing have been really strong but I think the performances have been giving us a real sense of confidence that if we get our crowd behind us we can perform against anyone.”
Jose Mourinho – “We are in a title race. We need points. Every game is difficult, and Everton are no different. We go with the intention to win the match but with lots of respect for a quality opponent.
“In every match we played better than the result [we got]. Even against West Brom where we won, the 3-2 victory makes it look like a very tight match and it wasn’t – the result should have been completely different. I say the same for the defeats to Man City and Palace, and for the draw against Swansea.
“The circumstances of the match gave us results worse than the performance, so I am positive. We are strong, we are together. I believe in them, and they believe in me.”
Team News
Bryan Oviedo is likely to miss out after picking up a knee injury, whilst Tom Cleverley has joined Steven Pienaar, Darron Gibson and Tony Hibbert on the sidelines.
Brendan Galloway is fully fit after missing the game against Tottenham.
Ramiro Funes Mori and Aaron Lennon could make their first and second Blues debuts respectively.
Previous Meetings
Who can forget last season’s 3-6 at Goodison? Two early Chelsea goals left Everton chasing a game they were never quite in, although things may have been different if Thibaut Courtois hadn’t turned Kevin Mirallas’ effort onto the post at 3-4.
There have been happier days against the Londoners at Goodison in recent times though, with 4 wins since 2010. Jermaine Beckford scored a memorable solo effort on the final day of the 2010-11 season to seal the 3 points.
Roberto Martinez’s first league win as Everton manager came against Mourinho’s men in 2013, as a Steven Naismith header was enough to earn all 3 points.
There’s never a ‘good time’ to be facing the Chelsea, but the opening games of the season suggest there’s a slight vulnerability about the champions. Certainly, 9 goals conceded in 4 games is an extraordinary statistic for a Mourinho side.
Things can change quickly though, and the international break may have given them the chance to press the reset button.
With the Stones’ saga still hanging in the air though, it is likely to be a hotly contested clash and a raucous atmosphere; something which may just give us the edge.
Expected Starting XI – 4-2-3-1 – Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Galloway; Barry, McCarthy; Kone, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku
