‘I am going with…’ – Mark Lawrenson predicts Everton clash vs Tottenham
BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson has made his prediction ahead of Tottenham’s clash with Everton on Monday, but he’s not confident about it.
The Toffees have lost three of their four Premier League games under new manager Frank Lampard, but progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals on Thursday with a win over Boreham Wood.
On Monday night they travel down to London to take on top four hopefuls Spurs, who have been on an inconsistent run themselves. Lawrenson, speaking in his BBC predictions column, says that the inconsistency makes his pick not a confident one, but he thinks the home side will edge it 2-0.
“Everton have not been great in either of their two away games under Frank Lampard so far, losing at Newcastle and Southampton, so they will have do far better to get anything here,” he said.
“At the same time, it’s hard to know which Tottenham team will turn up on Monday night. Antonio Conte picked a strong side against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, but they never really got going.
“Conte has been in charge since the start of November but it is still hard to work out why they are so inconsistent. I don’t think they are the greatest defensively, but I am not sure what the issue is with them sometimes when they come forward.
“They are at home and with Everton’s poor form on their travels I am going with a Spurs win, but I am not exactly confident that is what will happen.”
Away form
The away form and performances have been a major question mark for Blues fans since Lampard’s arrival, because they have been totally different to the home form.
At Goodison Park they look lively, energetic and purposeful on the ball but away from home they have struggled to really dictate the tempo of games and given up chances very easily.
Against a team as inconsistent as Spurs, that could mean a horror show or a really big opportunity for them to secure points that people aren’t expecting them to.
Lampard must find a way to make the team compact and reliable away from home while also still playing the style of football he wants from them, which means controlling possession and pressing high.
They need points desperately and even a draw would be a decent result for them on Monday, so fingers crossed that Mr. Lawrenson is wrong on this one.
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