Well, it has now almost come down to the wire as Everton faces arguably the single most important Premier League game in this club’s history when they play Wolves on Saturday.
In this penultimate match of the campaign, the Toffees have a chance to secure their top-flight status if they win and other results go the right way.
Defeat would potentially be terminal. So, Everton really needs the three points and if Leeds United and Leicester City lose heavily, essentially they will more or less be over the line.
Thirty-five points will in all probability be enough to guarantee Premier League football will be played at Goodison Park in its next and last season, given the fact all the other relegation candidates have difficult fixtures left.
Manager Sean Dyche has given his pre-match presser and confirmed that he is still without left-back Vitalii Mykolenko who has joined captain Seamus Coleman and Ben Godfrey out injured.
That leaves him with only Nathan Patterson as a recognized full-back so it could force a tactical switch possibly to a three-man defense or play Dwight McNeil at left-back.
In midfield, Dyche might decide to bring Amadou Onana back into the side or stick with James Garner. I would be tempted to stay with the former Manchester United youth product as he has performed well in the last two games.
More significantly though on the injury front, Dyche sounded an optimistic note about the fitness of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The ever-so-fragile center-forward came off at half-time in last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City with what was said to be a thigh strain.
Evertonians have been keeping their fingers crossed since Sunday that he will be ok to play at Molineux and the manager seemed to indicate that was very possible.
Assuming he does make it through training over the next few days and is available, then Dyche will perhaps still have a decision to make.
Does he start the striker or leave him on the bench to bring on if Everton are chasing the game?
The reason I say this is because if he gets hurt again then there is virtually no chance he will be available to face Bournemouth in what might still be a decisive game.
On balance, if he’s fit I would say start with him and if the Blues are able to get a one or two lead perhaps then take him off to try and ensure there are no further problems before Bournemouth.
What more is there to say other than surely nothing less than a win is really necessary?
A draw, though it wouldn’t be a total disaster of course and thirty-three points could keep Everton up, would mean it could be all or nothing on the final day of the season and that is not the scenario I want to see again.
Last season the Toffees did win their second-to-last match to fend off relegation after coming behind to beat Crystal Palace on that famous night at the Grand Old Lady.
READ MORE:
Everton must carry Brighton’s momentum into the remaining three matches
On Monday night Everton shocked everyone in the football world with a stunning 5-1 win at Brighton. Now they must continue that form with three games to go.
Next up though comes a hugely challenging clash with Premier League leaders and treble-chasing Manchester City at Goodison Park.
This is a match that almost no one would think Everton can win. Indeed, I would say that if there is one home game each season that seems like a certain defeat, it is this one.
The city is a superb footballing machine high in confidence as always and with an almost ludicrously lethal center-forward in Erling Haaland.
And, unlike the last two opponents to close out the Toffees season, Wolves and Bournemouth, City still have a lot to play for and will be determined to pick up three points as they attempt to retain their title.
Furthermore, the Blues have a terrible recent record at home against these opponents with their last win being a 4-0 drubbing of Pep Guardiola’s then embryonic side in January 2017.
There was a tight game last season at Goodison which was lost 1-0 but where the Toffees were denied a bang-on penalty that might have forced a draw.
However, after this week’s incredible performance and result, might another massive upset just be possible?
In truth, it seems very unlikely, despite the tremendous efforts that Everton showed at the Amex Stadium a few days ago.
Reproducing that level of almost faultless excellence from one to eleven is asking an awful lot from a group of players who have very rarely delivered anything like it recently.
As I speculated before the Brighton game, occasionally this team has produced something unexpectedly good against much better opponents, but it doesn’t last. So was it just a one-off?
If not there is though now the potential for real momentum behind Everton’s campaign to avoid the drop, something that looked very unlikely just a week or so ago.
Then, the Blues’ had just been on the wrong end of their own home drubbing as Newcastle United scored four at the Grand Old Lady.
After that result, I thought it was basically all over and relegation looked almost certain. Well, maybe I was mistaken.
At any rate, it seems critical for Everton to try and find a way to sustain the intensity of their overall performance on Monday evening.
In particular, the level of attacking creativity and the clinical nature of their finishing against the Seagulls.
The Toffees created a huge number of chances compared to so many other matches recently, especially away from home, scored five times, and could have had two or three more at least.
As I have previously mentioned, there have been signs of improved attacking productivity from this side for a while now, particularly on their travels.
Since Sean Dyche took over as manager the Blues have been more of a consistent threat in attack and that has led to an increased number of goals scored, although not enough to gain the points needed to secure top-flight status yet.
Now, the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin to fitness and form has transformed the goal-scoring potential of this team.
While he didn’t score at the Amex, Calvert-Lewin produced a top-quality all-round display leading the line.
His pace, strength, and clever movement give Everton a much-improved edge up front. An example is the first goal scored against Brighton.
Calvert-Lewin took a quick pass, controlled the ball, turned superbly, and using his pace and a clever Cruyff-like flick, got away from his markers before threading a well-weighted pass to Abdoulaye Doucoure to score.
That goal couldn’t have been scored without his presence and abilities.
And his return now also means that opposing defenders have a genuine top-class striker to deal with, rather than the makeshift forwards that have played for the Blues since the start of the season.
Going into Sunday’s match, I imagine Dyche will stick to the same eleven he selected to face the Seagulls.
In particular, he must continue with Yerry Mina and Nathan Patterson in central defense and at right-back respectively.
Both excelled as I thought they would after finally returning to the team and significantly strengthening the defense. Mina’s strength, aggression, and ability to get under a striker’s skin will be especially important on Sunday.
Can Everton possibly pull off another completely unexpected result this weekend? It does seem unlikely as while Brighton is a very good side, City represents another step up in quality.
The visitors do have the distractions of two other trophy hunts with an FA Cup final coming up and the Champions League semi-second leg next week. But, they have enough strength in depth and experience to handle all that.
Of course, having got the three points on Monday and given other results last weekend, to some extent the Toffees don’t need to be as concerned about the result as they might have been.
After all, no one has had any expectations of the team getting anything from this fixture. And, even after Monday, that hasn’t really changed.
Although having said that, the Toffees did manage a creditable and unexpected 1-1 draw at the Etihad earlier in the season.
Defeat wouldn’t necessarily be fatal either, even if some of the other clubs around them won – although all their rivals have difficult fixtures – because Everton has two very winnable games to come and has shown they can deliver what is needed to secure the points required.
So, while I’m not expecting a repeat by any means and it seems highly probable the Blues will be beaten, hopefully, they can at least sustain to a considerable extent the defensive solidity and attacking creativity, and the threat they showed. A draw would be an excellent result.
Which Everton will turn up on Sunday, Monday’s team or the side that limply slumped to defeat against Newcastle United?
Leave a Reply