Hopefully after 90 minutes tonight, Watford fans will know where to stick their rubber snakes.
Amidst an ongoing battle between Everton and Watford over the alleged illegal approach of Marco Silva, November’s Premier League Manager of the Month nominee faces off against his former club tonight.
Watford come to Goodison having not won a game in their last five, after an otherwise solid start to the season under Javi Gracia. However, they matched Manchester City for shots on target in their last game which City could only manage to win 2-1. They have also won six Premier League games this season, the same as Everton.
There will be a familiar face for blues as well, with Gerard Deulofeu set to face a club that is ‘in his heart’, after being frozen out of the Everton squad by Ronald Koeman. I’m sure we’ll all give him a good reception on his return to Goodison Park, as after all… he’s magic, you know.
Would he get into the Everton side at the moment, though? It’s an interesting one. Silva’s attacking line-up became less predictable after he switched it around in midweek against Newcastle with Cenk Tosun returning to the side to provide a recognised striker for that finishing touch we’ve been lacking. However, the Turk wasn’t able to provide it, so may not keep his side in the place tonight.
Richarlison was arguably more effective back out on the left wing in a goal scoring performance, but we may need him up top. After widespread calls to put Ademola Lookman in from the start, the youngster didn’t massively grab his chance in midweek but did provide some attacking impetus. Whether he starts over Theo Walcott or Bernard tonight is debatable too.
Michael Keane was benched against Newcastle with Kurt Zouma and Yerry Mina given a chance to bond at centre-half, the new pair putting in a decent performance without having all too much to do. Silva won’t want too much rotation in a side still growing together, but may allow Keane to return to the side after a midweek rest.
Silva also revealed in his pre-match press conference that Morgan Schneiderlin is set to return from a small problem for tonight’s match, but he may struggle to even get into the squad with Tom Davies and James McCarthy arguably ahead of him in the pecking order even to be on the bench. Squad depth, I like it.
In conclusion, this is a very winnable game at our fortress Goodison, and after the frustration of the last couple of games, we would only really be happy if we came away with a win.
Without putting too much pressure on a developing side, let’s get the three points to reclaim our place in the top six of the Premier League, and put Mourinho and the Mancs back in their place. Come on you blues.
– Tom
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