Everton are looking to build on back-to-back 2-0 victories when they visit Molineux to face Wolves on Saturday. Whilst Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup 2nd Round victory was a game which Everton were expected to breeze through (despite a certain result at Grimsby Town proving that anything can happen in these early rounds), Everton put in a solid, professional display under the lights with an impressive Man of the Match display from young midfielder Harrison Armstrong to set up a rematch of this fixture, on Wednesday 17th September.
Everton come into this game having not conceded an open-play goal in any of their three matches this term, an impressive stat considering the hamstring injury to star defender Jarrad Branthwaite which dampened the mood before the beginning of the new season. Veteran defender Seamus Coleman proved that he can still provide value to the side, putting in a brilliant performance against the Stags, underlining how badly Everton have missed a natural full-back on that right side.
With the transfer window shutting at 7pm on Monday 1st September, Saturday’s match will be the final match which Everton will play without knowing their full squad up until January. Activity is expected, with a need for a defensive midfielder and a full-back growing more glaringly obvious with each day that passes by, and it would not be surprising to see one or two loan or even permanent exits. With Everton adding impressive attacking depth this window, it is hard to see striker Youssef Chermiti settling for being third-choice striker for yet another season, and with rumours of a loan move to Rangers appearing, a full season under his belt will do him the world of good.
Elsewhere, Wednesday’s opponents’ priority until the window slams shut is keeping hold of their star striker, Jørgen Strand Larsen, amid interest from Newcastle United. After notching 14 goals in the Premier League last season, the Norwegian has reportedly politely notified Wolves of his desire to join the Champions League club, however the West Midlands club have insisted that even a bid of over £60m will not be enough to convince them to sell. Despite the interest, Strand Larsen scored two goals as a substitute in Wolves’ 3-2 victory over West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Everton and Wolves – History
Over the last five meetings between the teams, the head-to-head sways slightly in Wolves’ favour, with them recording two wins as opposed to Everton’s one. Last season, Everton recorded a surprising 4-0 win over Wolves at Goodison Park, a match which saw two own goals by Craig Dawson.
Molineux has been a ground which the Toffees have struggled at in recent years, with their last 3 points there coming in the form of a 2-1 victory under Carlo Ancelotti, in 2021. The two teams played out a forgettable 1-1 draw at the ground last season, with Jack Harrison scoring his only Premier League goal of the season.
Manager David Moyes will extend his record of the manager who has appeared in the opposition dugout at Molineux the most times, which currently stands at nine.
Team News
David Moyes confirmed that Youssef Chermiti was left out of Wednesday’s squad as there is an opportunity for the striker to go out on loan.
Defender Vitality Mykolenko returned to the starting lineup against Mansfield on Wednesday, playing 87 minutes – his first appearance of the season. However, Everton will continue to be without injured defensive trio Jarrad Branthwaite, Adam Aznou, and Nathan Patterson.
Wolves defender Toti Gomes will return from suspension, after serving a one-match ban midweek after being sent off against Bournemouth. Defender Ki-Jana Hoever is a doubt after being forced off in the 35th minute during Wolves’ defeat to Bournemouth last week.
New signing Ladislav Krejci could play a part after Wolves announced the signing of the Czech international on Thursday. The 26-year-old defender was signed on a season-long loan from Girona.
Reports have suggested at around 4PM on Friday that Jørgen Strand Larsen is set to miss the game amid interest from Newcastle.
What the Manager Says
On the upcoming deadline day – ‘We could [make more signings]. But I don’t want to raise expectations all the time. Whether we get anything over the line by Monday night, I couldn’t be sure of that yet.’
On Harrison Armstrong – ‘He did really well in midweek. He showed he’s got the potential to be a future Everton player, that’s for sure. We’ve got a decision. Do we think we’re going to give him enough games between now and January? It’s something we’re looking at, but we’re really pleased with how he played.’
On back-to-back wins – ‘It was a really good victory against Brighton. Brighton are a very good side and never easy to play against. To get the first win was great, and obviously to back it up with a cup win in midweek, which is never easy.’
Everton Key Player
Jack Grealish – Who else? Everton’s superstar signing marked his full debut against Brighton with two assists, receiving high praise from supporters and pundits alike. Sunday’s Man of the Match stated he was ‘looking forward to Saturday already’, and it is clear to see how happy he is to be hopefully starting week in week out in the Premier League again. David Moyes stated post-Brighton that he was ‘very happy with Jack’, as he did ‘lots of good things’, questioning if he ever gave the ball away once.
Grealish looked particularly emotional in his post-match interview, stating that whilst he loved the four years he spent at Manchester City (essentially confirming that he has played his last game for them), he admitted that he has not enjoyed football as much as he should have in the past few seasons. This move seems to come at the perfect time for him, as Grealish has shown in the past that he thrives being the main man in the team who can demand the ball and constantly push his team up the pitch.
This will be particularly important away from home for Everton, who will look to rely on Grealish to retain possession and buy fouls around the attacking third. As well as that, Brighton’s defenders looked to double up, sometimes even triple up on Grealish which, if emulated by other teams, could benefit Everton greatly who possess other ball-carrying threats in Iliman Ndiaye and Tyler Dibling, who could find themselves in even more space. Everton’s second goal on Sunday proved this, as Grealish drew in two defenders before simply laying off a pass to James Garner, who found himself in plenty of space.
One To Watch for Wolves
Joao Gomes – At the first time of writing this Preview, I originally had striker Jørgen Strand Larsen as the player to watch for Wolves. Frustratingly, a report from Craig Hope of the Daily Mail, who is very reliable when it comes to Newcastle news, came to fruition on Friday afternoon which stated that Strand Larsen was going to miss the Everton game in hopes of forcing through a transfer to the North-East club – Wolves still insist he is not for sale. Instead, I have chosen to focus on midfielder Joao Gomes.
Gomes is an ever-present in the Wolves side, making 78 appearances in the last two seasons in all competitions. Despite being relatively small for a central midfielder, at around 5’9”, Gomes makes his presence known in a similar way to Joao Neves, at Paris Saint-Germain – which is certainly to be expected from a Brazilian. Whilst also being technically secure, Gomes will be looking to exploit the space which has appeared in Everton’s midfield at the beginning of this season, as a result of Idrissa Gana Gueye’s roaming role. Whilst neither team has a particularly physically dominant midfield, at least compared to the Arsenals and the Liverpools of the league, Wolves will be looking to Gomes to nullify the threat of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in Everton’s #10 position.
Final Thoughts
Whilst writing this Preview, I checked Wolves’ starting lineup for their first two league games this season and I was, in the most respectful way possible, shocked by how poor their team was. Of course, the loss of Matheus Cunha to Manchester United has taken a lot of quality away from the squad, yet it is hard to see how the £62.5m has been invested back into the squad. Wolves are a club heavily plagued by financial issues, having lost £128m in the last three years alone. They are seemingly a club on a downward spiral, which makes it feel strange to view Everton as the more stable of the two teams involved in a Premier League match. Despite all of these issues, Wolves will no doubt have been eyeing this fixture as their best opportunity to get three points on the board before the international break.
Prediction
0-1 – Wolves have struggled massively going forward in the league so far this season, amassing only 1.02xG across their two games. Despite scoring three goals against an admittedly poor West Ham team midweek, I think they will struggle against Everton’s defence with a lack of pace up front and physicality in midfield whilst Everton’s attacking talent may prove too strong against a notoriously leaky defence. The Blues will be looking to make it five wins out of their last six in the Premier League, as well as aiming to build on an already promising week ahead of next week’s international break.
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