Declan Walsh

Thu 18 March 2021 21:00, UK Updated Fri 19 March 2021 10:10, UK

There’s no getting away from the fact that Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has dropped off since starting the season like a runaway train.

To be fair, he was never going to keep pace with the form that saw him score seven goals in his first five and 11 in his first 11 Premier League games.

However, he’s only scored three since then in the next 17 games, although he missed three of those through injury.

If Everton are going to get past Man City on Saturday – and if we do we’ve got a real chance of silverware this season – Calvert-Lewin needs to roll back the months.

Some fans would be hoping for Josh King to add a new dimension to the attack on Saturday but he’s cup-tied after playing in the competition for Bournemouth.

And chances are likely going to be at a premium against a side that’s only conceded 21 goals in 30 Premier League games this season.

Calvert-Lewin hasn’t had a chance to go at this brilliant Man City side yet, missing the Premier League game through injury.

And he’ll be raring to go after getting on the scoresheet against Burnley, although he should have had more than one and Everton perhaps wouldn’t have lost if he had.

Calvert-Lewin got a hat-trick against West Brom in the second game of the season and an incredible 9.9 rating from WhoScored.

But he’s no flat-track bully.

He scored against Liverpool and Tottenham in the opening games of the season and more recently pounced at the death to snatch a point against Man United.

The goals against Liverpool and Spurs were almost carbon copies, absolutely fantastic headers that showed strength and, more importantly, single-minded determination to score from unlikely positions.

This is what Calvert-Lewin simply has to rediscover on Saturday.

Against Liverpool, the cross that came in from Lucas Digne wasn’t the best.

High and hopeful, it saw Calvert-Lewin in a place where he had no right to score, with two Liverpool defenders crowding him out.

Calvert-Lewin launched himself into the ball and got amazing height on his leap, directing a header to the goalkeeper’s right giving him no chance of making the save.

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It was a goal from nothing and it put Calvert-Lewin on the map as one of the country’s in-form strikers.

Look at the goal he scored in the Tottenham game and it was an almost identical copy.

Okay, the delivery from Digne was a lot better this time, a viciously curled free-kick that landed almost exactly on the penalty spot.

But again, Calvert-Lewin had absolutely no right to win the header.

You can see below that he’s surrounded by defenders again but he’s more determined and stronger than they are. Jose Mourinho will not have been happy at the way this was conceded.

Again, Calvert-Lewin gets incredible height on his leap to leave the Tottenham defenders stranded and the bullet header gives Hugo Lloris absolutely no chance.

This was the opening game of the season and it set the tone for the four straight wins that got our season off to such a flyer.

This is what Calvert-Lewin hasn’t been doing in the second half of the season and whether it’s a loss of confidence or momentum, he simply has to rediscover this ruthlessness in the box on Saturday.

If he doesn’t, put simply, we’ll get punished by Man City.

In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell predicts Blues clash v Manchester City.