Jamie Carragher admits ‘big worry’ about Everton as Gary Neville delivers damning relegation prediction
Jamie Carragher has admitted that the number of goals Everton are conceding is a “big worry”, while Gary Neville believes the Merseyside club will be relegated from the Premier League this season.
Sean Dyche’s side stretched their winless run to six games after capitulating against Newcastle in midweek (27 April), leaving them in 19th position with just five matches of the season remaining.
Speaking on The Overlap (29 April), Neville and Carragher delivered a pair of damning assessments about the Toffees, who will travel to face Leicester City in a relegation six-pointer on Monday night (1 May).
“The big worry is that a Sean Dyche team has now started conceding goals,” Carragher said.
“Because Everton are never going to score goals, and Sean Dyche is not going to change that, he’s not.
“So the only thing he could do is make them tougher to beat than Frank Lampard was, and he did that initially, but think about what happened last night [against Newcastle], and the last two home games they have conceded seven goals.
Neville replied: “Last year, they stayed up by the skin of their teeth, but this year I think they will go down.
“I think Southampton, Everton and Forest are going to go down.”
Down to the wire
Whatever happens at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, Everton’s fight against relegation is likely to go all the way down to the wire.
The 4-1 defeat to Newcastle at Goodison Park did feel terminal to the club’s chances of survival in the moment, but when looking at the club’s upcoming fixtures, there are still points to be had.
Leicester City are struggling as much as the Toffees are right now, while Wolves and Bournemouth are both winnable games if Dyche’s side shows up with the right attitude and application.
As Carragher mentioned, though, the leaky defence of Everton is a massive issue.
Dyche’s sides are usually organised and well-drilled at the back, but Everton have been shipping goals for fun over the past couple of months.
Hopefully, the calamitous defending against the Magpies was a one-off, and the Toffees can keep it clean at the back in the upcoming relegation showdown.