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Charlie Nicholas warns Everton about 'basic errors'
Everton put in a decent performance against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, but poor mistakes cost them in their 3-2 defeat.
Going forward they were very good, and probably should have scored more goals, but defensive lapses ruined things.
That’s something that manager Carlo Ancelotti will be keen for his team to improve on in Sunday’s important clash with Manchester United at Goodison Park.
If they do that, then they should have the offensive capabilities to really take the game to this improving United side.
Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas feels that the two teams will most probably cancel each other out in a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
“This is a great game,” he wrote on the Sky Sports website. “Everyone can see that Carlo Ancelotti has got Everton going. They are doing well through the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison. But they do make basic errors and can be vulnerable at the back, which is a worry.
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“Manchester United are building momentum, but if a team were to take them on, which Everton will, they will become disrupted. Anthony Martial may not be fit, but Odion Ighalo needs game time. His goal on Thursday will have helped but he does look rusty. The pace up front then becomes a headache.
“Everton have definitely picked up, so I expect goals. The defence has improved at United and I see a lot of confidence there at the moment. I see a fairly physical game, as the crowd will want it that way, and I cannot separate them.”
Is a draw on the cards, here?
You can see why Nicholas would go for this. These are two evenly-matched teams who have both improved over the past month or so.
Bruno Fernandes’ arrival at Old Trafford in January has had a transformative impact on this United team.
Suddenly there is genuine creativity, goals and solidity in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, something which certainly was not the case previously.
The Toffees are well-drilled, though, and they have a strike partnership that gives any team problems. A draw is the most likely result, yes.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti has definitively rejected the chances of a star Blues defender leaving any time soon.