Chris Sutton predicts result of Everton clash vs Tottenham
Chris Sutton expects Frank Lampard to set Everton up in a “pragmatic” way when they take on Tottenham on Saturday evening in the Premier League.
The Toffees saw their seven-game unbeaten run snapped last weekend when Manchester United came from behind to win at Goodison Park.
Sutton, writing in his BBC predictions column [13 October], believes that could see Lampard set up more defensively to get over their “underwhelming” performance last week, but still think Tottenham’s attack will have enough to earn a 3-1 win in north London.
“Everton were a bit underwhelming against Manchester United at the weekend, especially after taking an early lead,” he said.
“The Toffees defence has improved a lot since the last time they came to Spurs – they lost 5-0 in March – but United showed you can still get at them.
“I think Everton boss Frank Lampard will be quite pragmatic here, but stopping Spurs won’t be easy. Harry Kane is up and running and Son Heung-min is still in my fantasy team and is going to come good soon.
“So, Tottenham will find a way though. How comfortable this is for them just depends on when they score their first goal.”
Test
Everton have had one of the best defences in the Premier League so far this season and that has come from Lampard’s willingness to prioritise a solid defence over a free-flowing attack.
Against a Spurs side who often do the same, but have got far greater individual quality in their side, that is a recipe for a really tough game, especially away from home.
With no Anthony Gordon in the side the Toffees are likely to be even more reliant on some individual quality to win them this game, and that just isn’t something that is sustainable against top level opposition.
Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son were both on fire in midweek and while Everton will defend resolutely, stopping them is a task in itself, never mind Richarlison who we know all about.
A win would be excellent next for us, but realistically a draw would be a positive result too and if we defend as we know we can then we have every chance of proving Sutton wrong.