We’re now in the final international break of the calendar year but with some huge fixtures on the horizon when Everton resume action later this month, Rafa Benitez has some problems to ponder.
Everton have not won a game since the 2-0 home victory over bottom club Norwich City back on September 25 and Benitez will be determined to halt the slide when they head to the Etihad to face reigning champions Manchester City on November 21.
Stalling engine
The combination of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan in the engine room was one of Everton’s strong points early in the campaign but the Frenchman’s injury has not only impacted on the Brazilian’s form but left a gaping hole in the centre of the park.
Doucoure is such an energetic presence that the Blues look worryingly short of legs in his absence.
This could be remedied by adding a third midfielder but Benitez has never really been a manager to deploy such a system and his preferred formations of 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 both rely on having two men in the engine room.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin looked alarmingly off the pace before being hooked at the interval at Molineux and in the subsequent one-and-a-half matches, Fabian Delph has come in from the cold to look a steadying influence.
While there are no doubts about the former Manchester City player’s pedigree, his wretched injury record while at Goodison presents serious question marks over how long he can remain in the side.
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In the zone
Benitez has long been an advocate of zonal marking rather than basic man-to-man, but for the system to work effectively, the players involved need to understand what is required from them to deploy it properly.
Everton have already conceded as many goals this season from set pieces (seven, excluding penalties) as they did throughout the whole of last term.
A big part of remedying this is having an effective partnership at centre-back but while Michael Keane has been an ever-present, he’s had three different team-mates alongside him in the heart of defence.
Both Keane and Ben Godfrey looked more secure last time out against Tottenham - they couldn't have been much worse after Wolverhampton Wanderers - but Yerry Mina has been missed with the Colombian offering an increased aerial presence.
Quick off the mark
Early goals have been difficult to come by for Everton so far this season and one the one occasion that they did net one with Tom Davies firing them ahead against Watford in the third minute, they subsequently suffered a spectacular late collapse.
The fact is though overall, just one quarter of the Blues’ 16 Premier League goals to date have come in the first half of matches with Demarai Gray’s 41 st minute strike at Brighton back on August 28 their only other effort before the break from open play (additional first half goals were penalties from Dominic Calvert-Lewin on 30 minutes in the 2-2 draw at Leeds United and Andros Townsend on 29 minutes in the 2-0 win over Norwich City).
With three times as many goals (12) in the second half of matches, Everton could benefit from some increased potency in the early stages of their games to set themselves up more comfortably rather than find themselves chasing.
Leading the line
Following his appointment, Benitez quickly identified bringing in wide men (Townsend and Gray) who could provide quality crosses for a target man centre-forward (Calvert-Lewin) to play to his new team’s strengths.
Calvert-Lewin duly netted three times from as many matches but then has subsequently been sidelined with a quadriceps injury.
Deadline day signing Salomon Rondon was supposed to represent the closest ‘like for like’ alternative to the England international up front but despite being an effective Premier League performer in the past, he’s looked a shadow of his former self so far.
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Richarlison made a scoring return from his own injury absence against former club Watford but having started up front against Wolves and Spurs, he offers a different kind of attacking threat.
The Blues have therefore had to be a bit cuter in their approach and must try to move opponents around more rather than just pumping balls into the box while their number nine remains out.
