Everton v West Brom: The inside track on the Toffees

We spoke with Rodger Armstrong, host of the Blue Half podcast, and Lyndon Lloyd from ToffeeWeb, to get an expert take on Carlo Ancelotti's side.

See what they had to say here:

How did Everton get off the mark - it seems to have been a positive start?

RA: More than we could have hoped for with a first win away to "Top Six" team for seven years.

Very encouraging performance and a clean sheet.

LL: It was a very positive start.

The delight with which Evertonians celebrated the opening-day win at Tottenham says something about our club’s painful record against the so-called “Big six” in recent years, particularly away from home.

No one’s really had a proper pre-season, but the team looked sharp and really cohesive which was definitely not the case at the tail end of last season!

What are the expectations amongst Evertonians this season?

RA: We are an easily excited bunch and prone to extreme reactions, but I would say we are more optimistic than at any time since Moshiri took over four years ago.

We expect to be pushing for Europe, but would trade that for a cup win (either of the domestic competitions).

LL: As someone quipped recently, Evertonians have seen more false dawns than Bill Murray’s Phil Connors so there’s always a lid on the optimism!

But with the new signings made over the summer and the fact that our manager is Carlo Ancelotti, there are definitely hopes of marked progress this season

I said before a ball was kicked that I think we’ll surprise a few people this season and I’m looking for Everton to be challengers for the top six but much will depend on keeping our best players fit.

What sort of business have Everton managed to do this summer, and what do you make of that business?

RA: Carlo has got the priorities right and bought a whole new midfield, where we had been woeful. All the three new boys impressed on Sunday. James Rodriguez oozed class.

Now the emphasis is as much on sales as purchases; we still have expensive players on the wage bill who don't seem to feature in the manager's plans.

LL: The transfer business so far has been excellent. It represented somewhat of a break from Director of Football, Marcel Brands’s initial modus operandi of buying players under the age of 25 with resale value and, instead, addressing serious deficiencies in midfield.

Allan was signed from Napoli and Abdoulaye Doucoure was picked up from Watford for around £40m to bring some much-needed tenacity and power to midfield, and while they’re 29 and 27 respectively, they’re exactly what we needed.

Then the piece de resistance was the acquisition of James Rodriguez, also 29, who adds genuinely world-class attributes and match-winning ability to a side that has been lacking those qualities for too long.

The initial signs against Spurs on Sunday, when all three slotted in like they’d been at the club for years, are hugely encouraging.

Carlo Ancelotti has had some time to really work with the team for a while now, what sort of style of play can we expect to see from his side?

RA: There are signs that he will move to a 4-3-3 with James, Richarlison and DCL up to and Gomes, Allan, Doucoure in MF, maybe a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 at times.

New signings have given him freedom to move from his previously favoured 4-4-2.

LL: There were glimpses of it in the second half of last season before the team’s form tailed off after the Premier League resumed in June but it’s very much a style based on passing and ball-retention mixed with direct play aimed at catching opposition team unawares.

Until the new signings, Everton weren’t really able to play through the press or break opposition lines effectively, something which visibly frustrated Ancelotti, but the early evidence is that new boys will be able to implement his possession-based game far better.

There’s a good blend of silk and steel about the team now which means the Blues can hurt teams in a number of different ways.

Are there any injury issues at Goodison Park?

RA: Gbamin is the only important long term absentee.

LL: Former Baggies loanee Mason Holgate has just been ruled out for about six weeks with a toe injury which is really unfortunate because he was a revelation at centre-half last season. He returned to Everton from the Hawthorns with a bit of a question mark over his future but the club’s failure to retain Kurt Zouma meant that Holgate was one of only three senior centre-backs so he knew he would get opportunities. He grabbed them with both hands and was our best defender in 2019-20.

Apart from him, it’s just the two long-term absentees. Jean-Philippe Gbamin recovered from two surgeries to correct a torn quad tendon only to go and rupture an Achilles just before last season was about to resume after the Covid-19 shutdown.

And Cenk Tosun looked set to turn his loan at Crystal Palace into a permanent move when he damaged his ACL earlier this year. Neither player is expected to be fit before December.

What's your predicted XI heading into the game this weekend?

RA: Same as Spurs game.

LL: Fitness permitting, I can’t see Ancelotti deviating from the side that start at Tottenham, which would mean Pickford in goal behind Coleman, Keane, Mina and Lucas Digne. Allan, Doucouré and Gomes would be the midfield three with Rodriguez, Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin as the forward trio.

Rodriguez played mostly off the right on Sunday but I suspect that as his fitness improves, we will see him roaming a lot more.

What have you made of Albion from afar, do you think they have what it takes to stay up in the top flight this season?

RA: Tough first fixture against Leicester, lost with some naive defending.

Think it will be tough, beating teams around them will be critical as will scoring enough goals.

LL: Apart from exceptions like Leeds and Wolves, the general feeling these days is that the clubs coming up from the Championship are always going to struggle because of the financial disparity with the Premier League.

Obviously, the start against Leicester indicated that it promises to be a tough season for West Brom. I would worry that there isn’t quite enough quality in the squad but sometimes, as Sheffield United showed, having a plan and a set way of playing can more than compensate.

It’s good to see Slaven Bilic back in the top flight again, though, and his team’s play football the right way so perhaps once the club is settled back in, he can put some results together for the Baggies… starting after Saturday’s game, of course!

Your match prediction?

RA: 3-0 (very rare to be so confident).

LL: Again, we Toffees aren’t getting carried away just yet but I think most of us would expect a strong showing in our first home game (fans or no fans) and to win fairly comfortably. I’ll go for 2-0 to Everton.

You can follow Rodger on Twitter here. Or you can keep up to day with ToffeeWeb here.