Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Everton: They Couldn’t, Could They?

Everton are currently top of the Premier League. After four straight wins, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are sitting in very unknown territory.

A 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur was followed with a 5-2 win over West Bromwich Albion for Carlo Ancelotti and Everton. A 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and a 4-2 over Brighton & Hove Albion has got Everton fans very excited.

Everton’s next game comes on Saturday lunch time against Merseyside rivals and reigning champions Liverpool.

Everton’s last win over Liverpool came ten years ago on October 17th 2010. The game on Saturday is also October 17th.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: Mikel Arteta of Everton celebrates scoring to making it 2-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on October 17, 2010 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Everton have desired a win over Liverpool for a number of years, with a few last minute losses.

There was Sadio Mane’s injury time winner at Goodison Park in the 2016/17 season and Divock Origi’s strange injury time winner at Anfield in the 2018/19 season.

However, Liverpool lost 7-2 to Aston Villa last time out. This has put pressure on Liverpool to get back to winning ways.

Aston Villa celebrate during their win over Liverpool. Will Everton use this as inspiration?

With Everton playing so well, this is the most fearful Liverpool fans such as myself have been in some time about playing the Toffees.

With Adrian looking incapable as the goalkeeping stand in, Everton fans will feel this is their time to pounce and break their recent hoodoo against Liverpool.

Everton and Carlo Ancelotti will hope that Adrian is in goal for Liverpool on Saturday.

If Everton were to win, it would certainly raise questions as to whether the blue half of Merseyside could actually challenge for the Premier League.

The Pedigree Of Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti has been a serial winner throughout his time as a manager and a player.

Managing clubs in the past such as AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich, Carlo Ancelotti has managed some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Carlo Ancelotti celebrates winning the Champions League. Can he bring a trophy to Everton fans?

It was a surprise when he took the Everton job, but he now has a challenge that he has not had in some time. He is managing a club that have not won a trophy since 1995.

If Carlo Ancelotti was to win the league with Everton, he would become a legend at the club.

Everton have one of the most in form players in the league in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a midfield that has been bolstered in the summer. The signings of Abdoulaye Doucouré and Allan have really helped bring something to Everton’s midfield.

Calvert-Lewin celebrating his goal in the 1-0 win for Everton over Tottenham.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford remains the one downside to this start to their Premier League season.

His mistake against Brighton which allowed the Neal Maupay goal was unpunished with the 4-2 win, but one day he will make an error that leads to dropped points.

Pickford at fault during Everton’s win over Brighton.

Should Pickford improve his game, then Everton will have even more reason for optimism.

They Couldn’t, Could They?

When Leicester shocked the sporting world by winning the 2015/16 Premier League title, they were partly helped by the teams around them not performing.

Leicester celebrate winning the Premier League.

Chelsea had one of the worst title defences in Premier League history. Manchester United and City were both not themselves and Liverpool were in a rebuild mode with Jürgen Klopp replacing Brendan Rodgers during the season.

Arsenal and Tottenham provided the biggest challenge to Leicester that season but Arsenal were still 10 points behind in second place after the final day.

We have already seen the two pre season title favourites slip up. Manchester City lost 5-2 at home to Leicester and Liverpool lost 7-2 away to Aston Villa.

Other teams expected to challenge for Europe have also slipped up. Everton have already beaten and outplayed Tottenham on the opening weekend and Manchester United lost 6-1 to Spurs last time out.

This is what Everton will need to become serious title contenders.

They will need the teams around them to have off-years and capitalise on this, just as Leicester did in the aforementioned 2015/16 season.

Everton can gain alot of confidence from a win over their local rivals and this could propel them to greater things.

For more like this, please visit our dedicated football page which you can find right here. Meanwhile, follow us on Twitter for coverage of the Premier League, Bundesliga and much more.

The Greatest FA Cup Quarter-Final Moments

With the FA Cup Quarter Finals on the slate for the weekend. We take a look back at the greatest Quarter Final moments over the years.

Premier League: Who Will Go Down?

We're getting down to squeaky bum time in the Premier League. Who will go down and who will manage to eek out just enough points?

Man United Impress As They End City’s Run

Manchester United ended City's impressive run with a 2-0 win at the Etihad. It's not made a dent in the title race mind.

Vivianne Miedema: The Best Striker in the World

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema is the best striker in the world and she is only just getting started.