Everton have had a great start to their 2020/21 Premier League campaign as they registered a victory in their opening fixture against Tottenham Hotspur. The Toffees dominated most parts of the match. They had a good outing, with all their new signings in the form of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez having a productive outing in what has been a tough fixture for the Merseyside club in the recent past.
In their next match, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be facing the challenge of West Bromwich Albion, who got promoted to the Premier League this season. It has not been a good start to the campaign in the top flight for the Baggies as they had to face a humiliating 0-3 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in their own backyard. They will be desperate to bounce back to winning ways against Everton and is expected to make this match a tough one for the Merseyside club.
Team News
Carlo Ancelotti gave ample rest to his first-team stars from the victory against Tottenham as he deployed ten new players into the lineup in their Carabao Cup tie against Salford City. The Toffees won the fixture by 3-0 as Moise Kean, Michael Keane and Gylfi Sigurdsson opened their accounts with one goal each. This ensures that the Italian gaffer will go in with an unchanged lineup from their opening match against Spurs.
It is expected that the injury situation of both Mason Holgate and Fabian Delph will be assessed ahead of the WBA match.
Defence
Jordan Pickford had a reasonably good game against the north London side in the goal. The England number one is expected to start under the crossbars in the match against the Baggies.
The duo of Yerry Mina and Michael Keane, who did well to guard the goal against the likes of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Heung Min Son, will once again start in the central defence for the Toffees. Captain Seamus Coleman is expected to put in a shift as the right-back while Lucas Digne will start in the left-back position. Both the players were on the bench against Salford City.
Midfield
It is expected that Ancelotti will go in with a 1-2-1 formation in the midfield, which worked well against Spurs. Allan will play as the deep-lying midfielder, while Doucoure, along with Andre Gomes, will marshall the midfield as they did a brilliant job against Jose Mourinho’s side in the last match in terms of ball possession and passing.
The big-name signing, James Rodriguez, who had a significantly promising debut to life in the Premier League, will start in the number 10 role, right behind the two strikers. He created five chances in the first match, which shows that his ability is being put to good use by his former manager from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Attack
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored the winning goal for the Toffees in the match against Spurs to hand them a crucial victory, will lead the line against West Brom as well. Richarlison, who missed a few opportunities to score in the opening fixture, will look to take his chances as he starts as the second striker in the crucial clash against the newly promoted West Bromwich Albion in their own backyard.
Predicted Formation (4-1-2-1-2)
