Late last week, Everton manager Marco Silva explained why he will insist that his side still use a zonal marking strategy to defend set-pieces, despite the Blues having conceded three goals from corner-kicks during the first few weeks of the season.
The Blues set up in a similar fashion against Huddersfield Town at the weekend and once again, they conceded a goal from a set-piece as they were held 1-1 at home by David Wagner’s men.
The Terriers clearly planned the set piece and it exposed Everton’s defensive vulnerability and was just another reminder of how much work Silva and his coaching staff must do to get the team to where he wants them to be.
The Blues face West Ham at home after the international break, and the Hammers have not yet picked up a single point this season, so betting tips like these will have the home side as big favourites going into the game.
The break could allow Silva to work on set-piece defending with some of his squad, but with players jetting off across the world to play for their countries, he won’t have time to work with them all.
For all of their faults, West Ham have a few decent set-piece takers and a few players who age good in the air, so it’s certain that they’ll look to expose Everton’s weakness, just as Huddersfield did.
Silva has insisted that he’ll stick with a zonal marking scheme so West Ham will be planning ways to exploit the Blues, just as the Terriers did. It is the job of the manager, the coaching staff and the players to ensure that the errors that plague Everton at set pieces are irradiated, which will give them a much better chance of success this season.
