West Bromwich Albion vs Everton e-Football Preview
Article by Ivory Clark @IvoryPunktureFollow e-Everton on Twitter!
With the increasingly annoying September break for England International fixtures endured and out of the way and the transfer window a distant memory, the Premier League returns with Everton making the trip to The Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion this Saturday.
Everton beat Chelsea 1-0 at Goodison in the post-International fixture this time last year, with Gareth Barry making his Everton debut with a brilliant goal line clearance to deny Samuel Eto’o. This year they may both start for the away side in an even more experienced Roberto Martinez's Everton.
The points tally after the first 3 games last season was depressing with Everton only racking up 3 points from three draws against distinctly average sides that Everton had dominated.
Questions were asked then as to whether the players could adapt to Martinez’s more patient and technical football philosophy. Would they let winnable games slip through their clutches on a regular basis through trying to stick to the ‘Martinez Philosophy’?
The victory against Chelsea that soon followed and the team spirit the players showed in that performance soon gave Evertonians reason to be optimistic.
This season Everton find themselves with fewer points after the first 3 matches and already 7 points behind league leaders Chelsea, whose victory at Goodison this time around was an epic, albeit defensively perplexing, 6-3 rollercoaster. Add to that a late capitulation to Arsenal to draw 2-2 and another to Leicester City on the opening day and you’d be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu. Everton’s performances, barring the defensive mayhem against Chelsea, have been dominating, which makes their points tally even more frustrating.
This weekend’s game against West Brom is too good an opportunity to kick start winning ways for Everton than they can afford to miss. After an opening day 3-0 drubbing away to Swansea and two subsequent draws to an in-flux Southampton and a slightly stronger Sunderland, it appears that West Brom’s lack of significant activity in the summer’s transfer window will make this season a particularly precarious one.
Former Everton player Alan Irvine, who also became a coach for the Blues during the Moyes era, is now West Brom’s manager. If they are to avoid a relegation battle, he will have to somehow transform another former Evertonian Victor Anichebe into the kind of 15 goals-a-season striker that Everton fans had hoped for but gave up on him becoming.
West Brom’s first choice 11 so far this season has no surprises. Stalwarts Chris Brunt, Jonas Olsson, Youssouf Mulumbu and Graham Dorrans have all featured. Craig Gardner ‘s switch from Sunderland over the summer adds to the list of experienced but uninspiring Premiership talent in the West Brom squad.
The young attacker Saido Berahino, who burst onto a number of more successful Premier League clubs radars after sinking Manchester United with the winning goal at Old Trafford last season, has not really shone since that moment. Another big game will be required from him if there are to be any surprises for Everton’s so far fumbling defence.
West Brom’s most threatening and exciting attacker Stephane Sessegnon has begun all 3 Premiership games for them on the bench; maybe now would be the time for Alan Irvine to utilise his pace and unpredictability on the aforementioned worrying Everton backline.
Everton will be without Steven Pienaar and Ross Barkley but long term absentee Darron Gibson is now fully fit. Noses were turned up by many at the £500,000 transfer of Gibson from Manchester United to Everton back in January 2012 due to his injury record and the somewhat snobby opinions of United fans who believed he only had one useful talent in long range shooting. Since then his strong tackling, composed performances and forward looking passes were sorely missed until the introduction of Gareth Barry last year. Having him back to full fitness is a big boost to Everton’s midfield and will give quality cover for the successful partnership of Barry and James McCarthy.
John Stones' selection and subsequent displays for the England national side will give Roberto Martinez a lot to think about. Phil Jagielka has come under fire recently as he seems to be slightly off the pace and after the successful partnership of Stones and Sylvain Distin while Jagielka was out with injury last season, the calls for the precocious Stones to be first choice are getting louder.
Steven Naismith will most likely take the attacking midfield/second striker starting spot again while Ross Barkley is out, and as his confidence and belief in himself seems to be growing, so too are the number of admirers of the determined and top scoring Scot.
Injuries aside, just by looking at Everton’s bench for their last game (which included the returning and hungry Gibson, the composed and intelligent Leon Osman, the youthful and confident John Stones, the raw and aggressive Muhamed Besic and the classy, predatory Samuel Eto’o) let alone the more attacking and settled starting 11, they should be too much for a physical but stagnant West Brom side this weekend.
© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
No comments: