Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has slammed Everton’s performance against Watford last weekend, claiming that the club’s defensive issues could see Christian Benteke score on Saturday.
Everton looked to have blown their fixture against the Hornets in the first half at Vicarage Road last weekend, conceding goals from Adam Masina and Roberto Pereyra, before Yerry Mina scored two goals in injury time to level the score up before the break.
Theo Walcott then left it until the final moments of the game to secure the victory for Everton, latching onto the end of a Richarlison cross, diverted into the England international’s path by Moise Kean.
Everton’s defensive performance left much to be desired against Nigel Pearson’s men, and Nicholas has taken the opportunity to slam the Toffees ahead of their weekend clash against the Eagles, while also indicating that Benteke could find himself on the scoresheet.
The former Liverpool striker hasn’t scored in the Premier League since Crystal Palace’s 3-2 win against Arsenal last April, having failed to score in 16 games across all competitions this season (Transfermarkt).
Writing in his Premier League Predictions on Sky Sports, Nicolas suggested that the Belgium international could finally break his goalscoring duck against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, saying:
I watched Everton again last week against Watford. I do not know how they won. When they were 2-0 down, they were absolutely abysmal.
Carlo Ancelotti did not do anything magical, but before half-time they get a real ‘get out of jail’ card before Theo Walcott nicked it.
It is the defence that is the worry. They look so vulnerable. Roy Hodgson is clever enough to structure his team to sit in and bide their time, hitting them with the pace on the counter-attack.
Crystal Palace tend to enjoy these games. Somewhere along the line, Christian Benteke has to get a goal. Could it be written for Benteke, being ex-Liverpool?
Read Everton Verdict
To dismiss a striker who can’t seem to buy a goal at the moment seems foolish prior to him facing Everton, but I do think that Charlie Nicholas’ words are particularly harsh. Fabian Delph was as much a culprit as any of Everton’s defenders against Watford, and to tar the whole defensive line with the same brush is slightly unfair.
Still, Nicholas may be right about Benteke. Everton seem to always help players and clubs break their goalscoring ducks when they play the Blues, although the Belgian’s goalscoring record has been so poor that it seems unlikely that he’ll mount much of a threat in Cenk Tosun’s stead, with the Turkey international not able to play against his parent club.
Everton have Europa League ambitions, meaning that the club absolutely need three points as they continue moving forward. Hopefully, the Eagles won’t be too much of a challenge for Ancelotti’s side as Nicholas suggests.
