Premier League predictions: Chris Sutton v doctor & comedian Ed Patrick
Sean Dyche was accused of being too defensive-minded before his sacking last week, but Everton were somewhat torn between being difficult to beat and pushing for goals in Wednesday’s loss to Aston Villa.
That meant they were wide open and despite David Moyes’ side’s chances, Villa really should have won by more than a goal.
I think it will be a similar story here, with Everton doing things differently because they are home.
If they’re not there, I think they’ll be happy to sit back and take the pressure, but they’ll probably be more stretched out at Goodison Park and I don’t think it’ll end well for them.
Everton’s lack of goals – they’ve scored just 15 in their first 20 games – is pathetic. It couldn’t go on, but nonetheless, the weight of the world seemed to be on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shoulders.
It shouldn’t be a case of him or bust in terms of Everton scoring goals, but that’s what it felt like against Villa and he was struggling. I’ve experienced this myself, when the goal wasn’t coming his way and he looked hesitant and awkward in front of the goal.
As a striker you have to hope that opportunities come up but Calvert-Lewin looks to be at a disadvantage in front of goal and he lacks that mental clarity that you have when he’s flying and you just take it without thinking these opportunities.
As a result, it will be difficult for Everton to beat Tottenham Hotspur, although Anj Postkoglu’s side also performed poorly.
Antonin Kinski’s goal against Arsenal wasn’t great, but the whole team’s performance was disappointing.
Spurs have dropped to 14th in the table and they need a win, and quickly. This could be the boost they need, although I don’t believe they will keep a clean sheet, even against Everton.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-3
Ed’s prediction: We’ll see how the new manager works with Everton here. I think they’re going to go from a team that doesn’t score many goals to a team that scores two goals against Tottenham Hotspur. 2-1
