It was as emphatic as it was unexpected. Even the most optimistic blues would probably have snapped your hand off for a point last weekend. What we got instead though, was swashbuckling, fluid, high-intensity football akin to what we witnessed in Roberto Martinez’s debut season, resulting in a thumping 3-0 victory.
The Spaniard tweaked the system, as many felt he needed to, in order to accommodate two strikers. On paper it looked like a 4-4-2 diamond setup, but when out of possession, it slipped into a 4-5-1 shape, with Arouna Kone moving out to the right and Tom Cleverley to the left. What it allowed though, was for Everton hit Southampton on the counter-attack with devastating effect.
It was actually pointed out by our editor Paddy Boyland prior to the game, that over Martinez’s reign, several of the Blues’ best performances haven’t come from passing teams off the park, but from hitting them on counter.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the gaffer persists with this highly effective game plan on Sunday, as Everton welcome Manchester City to Goodison Park…
The Opposition – Manchester City
I’ll be honest, after losing out on the title and failing in Europe once again, I thought Manuel Pellegrini would be given his P45. Whether it’s a lack of an alternative however, or the fact he delivered two trophies the previous season, he remains in the hot seat at the Etihad.
He will undoubtedly be under pressure to deliver a major piece of silverware this season though, and has set about trying to strengthen the squad. Raheem Sterling, Fabien Delph and Patrick Roberts have all been brought in with an eye on the home-grown players quota, whilst Nicolás Otamendi may finally prove to be the partner for Vincent Kompany which they have been searching for.
They’re a squad full of quality, with your Aguero’s, Silva’s and Yaya Toure’s likely to cause the biggest headaches, and they’ve started the season like they mean business. Two 3-0 wins, one being over current champions Chelsea, shows the desire is there to return to the top of the tree.
What The Managers Say
Roberto Martinez: “When you perform as a team, you are always going to see certain individuals with enormous talent shining, but the key is to perform well as a team.”
“I felt that it was very unfair for me to highlight an individual after the game because, as a manager, it was one of those team performances that we look for.”
“It is the same with Sunday – if we rely on one or two individuals, we are going to full short.”
“It is about making sure the performance of the team is at the same level. Within that, you will see certain individuals show their quality and making a big difference. But the team performance will allow those individuals to shine.”
“Against City it will be the same as Southampton. We will have to be very good in everything. If you are not very strong throughout every aspect of the performance, you will find playing against Manchester City very tough.”
“When we play at Goodison I always feel, with our support, we can take on anyone. So it is one of those games that we look forward to because it is going to be one of the best games that we are going to be involved in this season.”
“The Southampton game has given us a clear idea of how we must be on the pitch. We have seen that we can do it, but now it is a case of seeing if we can maintain the levels from last Saturday, week in and week out.”
Manuel Pellegrini: “It will be a difficult challenge, because Everton are always a difficult team who play good football. In the two games so far this season they have scored five times.”
“They have Lukaku in a good moment and we will have to play with a lot of intensity if we want to win there.”
Team News
Kevin Mirallas is fully fit, whilst Aiden McGeady is also available.
Leighton Baines (ankle), Darron Gibson (foot), Tony Hibbert (knee) and Steven Pienaar (hamstring) are all still out.
Previous Meetings
A Yaya Toure penalty was enough to separate the sides at the Etihad last season, whilst a Steven Naismith header cancelled out Fernandinho’s opener in the return fixture at Goodison.
The Old Lady hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for City over the past decade, although they’re unbeaten in their last two visits, the first of which was a 3-2 victory which went some way to denying Liverpool the title that year (what a shame).
The Toffees last victory over City came in 2013, when a Leon Osman strike and a deflected Nikica Jelavic effort gave David Moyes’ men a 2-0 win.
Last Saturday’s win at Southampton has given everybody a lift, and we go into this game in a far more positive frame of mind than any of us would have envisaged a week ago.
4 points from Watford and Southampton means we’re pretty much back on track. Make no mistake though, this is a Manchester City side intent on regaining the title, and it’s a tough task that faces the Toffees on Sunday.
We’re on a high though, and with potential incomings on the horizon as well, hopefully we can carry that momentum into Sunday’s game.
Expected Starting XI: 4-4-2 – Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; Barry, McCarthy, Cleverley, Barkley; Lukaku, Kone
