Match Preview; Fulham (A)

The good feeling is back on the blue half of Liverpool, Marco Silva has brought something that Everton hasn’t felt in a long time, hope. The blues have strung together 3 absolutely class performances in a row, providing wins and clean sheets against West Ham, Arsenal and Chelsea. In their quest to conquer all of London, Everton will bring the show on the road to Fulham, a club that has not enjoyed the same success recently, or even this season. Relegated with 5 games left in the season, the boys from London spent a large sum in the summer, and have paid the price of poor cohesion, management, and a defense that has shipped more goals than the companies manufacturing them. A lack of a serious goal scoring threat, and stars like Ryan Sessegnon have underperformed big time. Meanwhile, young guns like Dominic Calvert-Lewin and stars like Lucas Digne and Andre Gomes are propelling Everton back into the hunt for 7th. How do the teams matchup, and will Everton make it 4 on the bounce?

The blues have found a lineup that has worked, Gomes and Sigurdsson in the midfield along with Idrissa Gueye have been nothing short of dominant, and honestly, boss like. Meanwhile, behind them a back four of Coleman, Keane, Zouma and Digne have shut down high powered offenses and Jordan Pickford has been nothing short of class since the game against Newcastle, meanwhile Bernard and DCL have enjoyed their time up top, with flashes of brilliance from Richarlison. Silva has stuck with this 11 and the consistency is showing, cohesion and team play all over the field has led to a stout Everton side enjoying success against the top 6 for the first time in years. Fulham, meanwhile, have lacked any sort of team spirit and unity, and have been abysmal for huge chunks of the season. Schurrle has been abysmal for the price that was paid, Mitrovic has underperformed for large portions of the season, and a carousel of new managers has led to less than stellar team selection. One of Fulham’s best performances of the season actually came at Goodison, but ended in a loss for the London side. Scott Parker’s job to come in and restore some pride was at best a huge task, and with Fulham on the ropes, Everton have to be looking for 3 points.

With all those things in mind, 3 wins on the bounce for Everton, 5 losses and counting for Fulham, and a crowd that will more than likely be on early holiday with the players, means that Everton should be looking for 3 points. However, underestimating the side and Everton underperforming has gotten the blues in trouble already this season with the likes of Huddersfield, and nothing comes easy in the Premier League. Look for Everton to field an unchanged side, and play aggressive attacking football with DCL at the front. Not only has this pressing style for Marco Silva really started clicking, Keane and Zouma have been superb in their efforts at the back providing the blues with a safety blanket if the press is broken. This is a game that screams trap to me, it seems most of our fans have written this game off already, and find themselves looking forward to the Man United game next weekend. However, Marco Silva has his mean raring for the fight and with the Leicester loss at Newcastle, so much is at stake in the quest for Europe. A convincing win and nothing less is what it’ll take, making it four on the bounce and sending the blues flying into the game against Manchester United.