Carlo Ancelotti is starting to turn Everton’s form around this season, with four wins from his first seven Premier League matches in charge.
His only league loss came by a single goal away to defending champions Manchester City, but the Toffees’ loss to rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup still lives on the minds of Everton fans – particularly as Liverpool’s lineup consisted of under 23 players.
A late 3-2 win at Watford on Saturday moved the Merseyside club back into the top half of the table. Whilst a European spot looks unlikely this season, the experienced Italian boss is working out which players he wants to keep between the current and next season to implement his tactics.
So far, it’s working out for the former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss, but the next five Premier League games alone should give us a better idea just how far Everton have come under the Italian in six weeks.
Anyone dreaming that Everton will win more than three of their next five games may want to click here and get similar odds to winning the lottery! Ancelotti has dealt a short hand for the remainder of February and into March with the tough run his new side has.
Crystal Palace is the visitor of Goodison Park this weekend, in a game where the home supporters will be demanding nothing less than three points. The Eagles will show up in poor form and potentially get dragged into a relegation battle.
After that, Everton will go to Arsenal, who only recently hired former Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta as their new manager. Although the Gunners have been drawing lots recently, they are starting to play their best football performance this season. Everton doesn’t usually get many points in London, so anything from this game will be seen as a bonus.
Manchester United is the visitors of the School of Science on Leap Day. The Red Devils have been inconsistent this season so it’s hard to predict how this one will go. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford back in December when Duncan Ferguson was the interim manager.
A trip to Chelsea starts March as Ancelotti goes back to Stamford Bridge. Although Frank Lampard’s side currently hold onto fourth spot, they haven’t looked tactically assured this season and a result on the road for Everton would not come as a huge surprise.
The third Merseyside derby of the season takes place in mid-March. By this point, we’ll know how many points Everton has picked up versus three more top sides, but the result on Saturday, 14th of March 2020, will be the most important one to supporters.
