Goodison Tactics: How can Everton hurt Tottenham Hotspur?
Everton need a win, it is now three league defeats in a row, and the last two performances haven’t been good enough.
The Toffees have to stop the rot, and they might have felt more confident had Nuno Espirito Santo still been in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.
The former Wolves boss never seemed like the right man for that job, and by the end, Spurs looked like a useless side.
However, they now have Antonio Conte, and you would think they will pose a much more difficult challenge now.
Despite this, though, all is not lost for the Toffees, and though it is early days in Conte’s reign, there are clearly places in which Everton can exploit.
In Conte’s first game, Spurs scraped by Vitesse Arnhem thanks to a 3-2 win, but there were some clear problems [BT Sport YouTube].
Here we will look at the two goals that Tottenham conceded.
This was a poor goal from Tottenham’s point of view and was easily avoidable.
If Dier’s positioning was better or if he had actually managed to jump, then he probably would have won that header.
So, though the Toffees have their own problems from set-pieces, they should be able to cause Spurs some problems if they can get enough corners and free-kicks.
The second goal that Tottenham conceded came from Vitesse pinching the ball high up the field.
This was another poor goal from Tottenham’s point of view, and Moura and Dier were at fault.
The Brazilian tries to be too clever, and Vitesse’s high press forces the error.
However, after that, Dier fails to stop the shot because he doesn’t close Bero down. If Rafael Benitez can initiate a high press then, the Toffees should be able to catch Spurs out.
It is very early days, so it is hard to fully assess Spurs under Conte, but it seems as if set-pieces and high pressing and trying to exploit Dier could be the way forward for Everton on Sunday.
In other Everton news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has provided an injury update.
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