The Daly Brief | Everton vs Spurs | OneFootball

'Everton are yet to lose at their new home, while Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish are a major threat. Manchester City beat them last week thanks to a second half tactical tweak, while Richarlison always does well against his old employers...'

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Edged out at the Etihad...

Last weekend, Everton went to Manchester City with a plan to contain. For 58 minutes, David Moyes’ side played really well, setting up his team with James Garner and Idrissa Gueye screening in front of a robust back four. Either by pressing high to win the ball, or working it on the counter-attack, Everton had notable first half chances, with Beto wasting the best of them. Then, having barely touched the ball, Erling Haaland met a Nico O’Reilly cross to head home the opener just before the hour.

Unlocking the Toffees' defence...

That 2-0 victory, and improved second half City performance, was in part orchestrated by altering Phil Foden’s role. Playing as one of two advanced midfielders (with Tijjani Reijnders on the right), the England international had little impact in the opening 45, butting up against one of Garner or Gueye in possession. However, Foden dropped much deeper in the second half to get on the ball - giving him the time and space to pick a pass, as he did to thread O’Reilly in down the left for City’s opener. It’ll be interesting to see if Spurs' dedicated number 10 on the day is tasked with doing something similar, be it Xavi Simons, Lucas Bergvall or another - especially if they float out to the left like Foden. However, one imagines Everton won’t be as passive in possession at home - they had just 28.9% of the ball against City.

The creators...

Centre-forward Beto is yet to really get going this season with just one goal so far - but behind him are three players doing their best to create openings for him. On a pitch that featured Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Foden last week, Iliman Ndiaye was the game’s best player. Incredible dribbling ability, an insatiable work rate offensively and defensively, as well as the quality to play the right pass makes him The Toffees’ primary threat. He’ll likely start out on the right, with Jack Grealish on the left. He couldn’t face his parent club last week but will surely return, looking to add to his four Premier League assists (joint-most with Mohammed Kudus). Prior to joining Chelsea for a sole season, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall had 12 goals and 14 assists in the 23/24 Championship season for Leicester. For £25m, Everton had added output as well as defensive diligence in their number ten position.

Everton hero, Spurs goalscorer...

Mathys Tel is available once again, while Randal Kolo Muani looked even sharper on his return from injury in the week against Monaco as a second half sub. But Richarlison is always good for a goal against his former club - and will be pushing for back-to-back starts. He has four in his last four against Everton - scoring in his final game at Goodison (a 3-2 Spurs loss last season) as well as an outstanding brace in a 2-2 draw in 23/24. A first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium may provide added motivation. Elsewhere, Archie Gray performed admirably at left-back in the Champions League, but Djed Spence will be pushing for a return to the XI, as will Xavi Simons. The numbers show that Kudus is one of the Premier League’s premium dribblers - and the Ghanian will have seen how Savinho, on City’s right-wing, gave Vitali Mykolenko problems by running at him, especially in the first half last week.

Last time we met...