Palace are bouncing with good vibes all over the place following our third win on the spin against Southampton. We welcome Sean Dyche and his Everton side to Selhurst this weekend.
To get the inside track on how Everton fans are feeling, TEB spoke to Trent Nelson, writer for the Royal Blue Mersey.
TEB – Hi Trent, thanks for your time. How are Toffees feeling at the moment? Confident that you will avoid the drop?
TN – I think everyone is a bit nervous after the last two matches, but Sean Dyche is – I suspect – a better boss than people ever give him credit for. He has us fighting, but the Toffees are just in a bad way right now.
The Blues need a good fit number nine for this stretch; if Dominic Calvert-Lewin can play and make an impact as he did last season against Palace across the rest of the campaign, I think we’ll escape again. Without him or someone filling his shoes? It’s going to be really difficult; three points here would do a lot for that cause, however, and I know the side will be looking to bounce back after two tough losses.
TEB – Assuming you stay up, what needs to happen in the off season to stop this cycle of narrowing avoiding the drop?
TN – It’s a great question. Finances need to stabilise. The side needs to build upon the good young players they have while selling the weight that isn’t producing so well any longer.
With that, Everton need more depth at the centre forward position and in the creative build-up. The variations on this Blues side over the last two seasons has been either unfortunate creative build-up play or else finishing; Dyche is going to have the defence organised – especially with a summer transfer window – but creative and finishing pieces must be added to accentuate the talent that this team does actually possess across the pitch.
TEB – So, who is going down?
TN – I actually think that either Forest or Leicester could still escape the clutches of the Championship at the expense of Leeds United. I just don’t see them staying up over either of the sides I just mentioned. Of course, Everton could go down but I suspect the side will find points in unexpected places – such is the Premier League – and the side will live to fight in the Premier League for another year.
TEB – Who’s the player that will make the difference in keeping you up?
TN – As mentioned above, I’d suspect Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have the biggest impact – he has certainly impacted the side by not being in it, but Everton are hoping he can still work a bit more magic for Merseyside.
Yet it could in this vein be argued that Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms could be right up there too. If the argument holds that the Blues need better finishing, then it follows that strikers could play such a huge part in the fate of this team over the rest of this season.
TEB – To the game at the weekend, what’s your prediction?
TN – I think Everton will get a 2-1 victory in a really hard fought match between two sides who need it. Two good bosses, two clubs that want points and need points, and a lot of talent on the pitch despite the point returns.
TEB – If you could magic one Palace player into your starting line-up, who would it be?
TN – Despite his poor form, Odsonne Edouard has such great potential and ability. If Roy can’t get him going before the season is up, someone else in the future certainly must because he was hard to stop for Celtic before his departure down south. Michael Olise or Eberechi Eze would be great too. Really skilled and ambitious players from what I’ve seen of them. Would help in the creative build-up to be sure.
TEB – Anything else?
TN – I’ll say that the line-up somewhere between a 4-5-1 and a 4-4-2; we’ll be aggressive but organised and it’ll be a fight to be sure.
Pickford; Mykolenko, Tarkowski, Keane, Godfrey; McNeil, Onana (if healthy, otherwise Garner), Gueye, Iwobi, Gray; DCL (Simms if he can’t go)
TEB – Cheers Trent, here’s to a cracker!
