Spurs Super Fan predicts clash v Everton
This is part of a regular series from our panel of Super Fans on upcoming Everton games. Ahead of Everton’s game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, we caught up with their Super Fan Harsh Mishra.
Everton have been on a wretched run of form and will not like the fact that Antonio Conte has taken over the reins at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Toffees will take on the London side with hopes of returning to winning ways, but the midweek display for Spurs in the Conference League suggests that the Italian has started to impart his philosophy on the team.
Ahead of the clash with Spurs, we caught up with one of their hardcore supporters, who also has built a solid Twitter following with his tweets about the club and the Premier League.
What have you made of Everton’s start this season?
Much like Spurs, they’ve been pretty off and on. After a decent start to the season, the last 3 defeats have averaged things out. The absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin is very much reflected in these results.
Which players have impressed you?
One of the players who’s impressed me so far is one of the summer signings, Demarai Gray. He went on a very good run of games in the streak of games that Everton did well in, at the beginning of the season. Unlike his last few seasons, he has shown that he has got goals to his game.
Here’s a stat on him that I had tweeted out in August, in case you want to include it.
In his Senior League career before joining Everton, Demarai Gray took 25 shots from his left foot and scored only once.
This season, for Everton, he has taken 3 left footed shots and already scored twice.
What are your thoughts going into the game against Everton?
Everton & Spurs have always more or less played out close games. I’m expecting this to be no different, but with the morale of the Spurs’ squad high after Conte’s appointment, I expect us to come out of it with a win.
What does Conte need to do to win the tactical battle v Benitez?
If Benitez does start all 3 of them, which I expect him to, Richarlison, Gray & Townsend will be key for Everton. Their 1v1 ability against our back three could come in handy for Benitez. It would be interesting to see if Rafa stays with a back 4 or changes it to a back three and go man to man.
Your early impressions of Conte? (From the Conference League game)
Conte is a World Class manager & his sides have a very defined pattern of play. Although he only had a single training session with our squad, the Vitesse game showed that he has already started enforcing those patterns. The second goal, scored by Lucas Moura very much a vintage Conte-goal. The move which lead to the Vitesse goalkeeper being sent off, was another pass & run move of Conte’s.
One player from Everton you would realistically like playing for Wolves?
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been unlucky with injuries this season, but there’s no doubt that he has a very high ceiling and is one of the best English strikers in the League. The impact of Conte’s appointment on Harry Kane wanting to leave for City is still unknown, but in case he does leave in the future, no matter how unlikely it sounds, I’d absolutely love if we splashed the cash on getting DCL.
Scoreline and goal scorer predictions
I’m terrible at predicting scores, but I expect Spurs to get away with a close win. 2-1 for Spurs. Kane and Son scoring for Tottenham and Keane scoring from a set-piece for Everton
Tough one
Rafa Benitez’s side are going to be lucky if they manage to come away with anything from this game.
In what is Conte’s first league game in charge of the club, the fans are definitely going to be buzzing.
The mood around the club is jovial while that on Merseyside is kind of gloomy, given they’ve lost three on the spin.
Hopefully, Richarlison, Gray and co muster the goods to cause an upset on Sunday.
In other Everton news, the club want to sign a ‘Sensational’ midfielder who has been likened to Andres Iniesta
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