Popular pundit Paul Merson has had his say on how he predicts the Blues to perform when Everton host Norwich City this weekend.
The Blues have endured a minor malaise in an otherwise positive start to the season. The Toffees were unbeaten in their first four Premier League games, only dropping points to Leeds United.
However, the last week saw a 3-0 thrashing away against Aston Villa and a dumping-out of the League Cup at the hands of Championship side QPR.
Rafa Benitez will be desperate to see his side bouncing back from a disappointing bump in the road early into his tenure as the Blues’ new boss, and Merson has backed Everton to do just that when they face the Canaries.
In his Sportskeeda column, he predicted a 3-0 win in favour of the Toffees, writing:
“Norwich City have now lost 16 Premier League games on the trot and were well beaten by Watford last weekend. Arsenal beat them 1-0, but it could so easily have been more.
“They shoot themselves in the foot regularly and are guilty of playing out from the back at the wrong times, which has contributed to their torrid run of form in the top-flight.
“I just don’t see anything other than an Everton win and if I look at the fixture list, I can’t see who Norwich are going to beat this season to get points on the board.”
Daniel Farke’s side have lost all of their five opening games since their immediate return back to the top flight and are rooted to the bottom of the league table.
Read Everton Verdict
No game is truly easy in the Premier League, but a match-up against a team rooted to the bottom of the table looks favourable – on paper.
Everton will need to rely on rotational options to bridge the gulf in quality left through injury.
The likes of Jordan Pickford and attacking pair Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all missed the Villa defeat due to injury. Pickford and Lucas Digne look available to return, but the Toffees are not yet at full strength.
Norwich represents a chance for more peripheral options in Salomon Rondon and Alex Iwobi to grab a fresh opportunity to impress, and Benitez will need to rely on them to carry the team forward in an injury-plagued period.
