On Saturday, Everton take on Southampton at Saint Mary’s: a place which in recent times has seen the Toffees struggle to retrieve all three points. The current mood around the club doesn’t suggest much chance of that changing, with the lack of signings and general poor form concerning many associated with the Blues. In this article I am going to take a look at the tactics, formation and players that can help improve the mood at Goodison with a win against the Saints.
Formations
After last week’s game I looked at the possibility of Everton playing with two up front after its relative success against Watford, and the upcoming game at Southampton could be the perfect time to trial it as Saints didn’t get the ideal result against Newcastle last time out and their high energy style of play provides the opportunity to send the ball long and retain possession further up the field. This could really help Everton create more dangerous opportunities as getting the ball into the final third would be a more regular occurrence.
The two options for involving two strikers are 4-4-2 or 4-1-2-1-2. Either one could be successful however I feel the 4-4-2 would be most effective as the four in midfield would help prevent getting overrun. Yet, despite all this Everton are still most likely going to play 4-2-3-1 as it is Martinez’s favourite formation and that is its only positive as the players are familiar with it.
Tactics
The way Everton play depends on their formation. If they do decide to go with two upfront they have to utilize that by bypassing the midfield and playing neat football in the final third as well as playing down the wings and using the pace of wingers Mirallas and Deulofeu to get crosses into the box early so that the forwards have the maximum chance of converting the cross. On the other hand, if Martinez decides to play with one up front the passing play has to be quick and decisive, with the players willing to take risks to break down the defence as the slow lethargic pace that has been on show recently won’t be good enough to penetrate Southampton’s back line.
Players
For Everton to win they will need all of their players to perform well but none more so than Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku. First, Barkley must play well to ensure Everton can create clear-cut chances, by going on direct runs with the balls and taking risks when it comes to passing forwards as he possesses a unique ability to scare teams and put them on the back foot when he is on form.
Similarly, Lukaku must be unselfish and selfish at the same time by playing smart passes where necessary but wasting no opportunity to shoot, which has been an issue at Everton of late as the desire to score the “perfect goal” has become overwhelming to the players meaning they often pass up good opportunities looking to really impress rather than just scoring and winning.
In conclusion, this weekends game relies on Everton perfecting multiple aspects of their game and hopefully they can win all three points and start to inject some positivity into the club.
@rosscummins98
