Everton will try to bounce back from consecutive Premier League losses on Monday night as they make the trip to Molineux to take on Wolves.
Rafael Benitez’s men face Tottenham, Manchester City, Brentford, Liverpool and Arsenal across their next five matches, therefore it’s a priority that they secure a positive result in Monday night’s clash.
Opponents Wolves have made an unremarkable start to life under Bruno Lage, winning as many games as they’ve lost (W4, D1, L4), which at a glance should give the Toffees confidence.
However, they’ve really started to click under their new Portuguese coach in recent weeks, winning three and drawing one of their last four league encounters.
RAFA BENITEZ: Carlo Ancelotti comparison rejected as he calls for Everton patience
RAFA BENITEZ: Everton manager on Salomon Rondon impact
A staple of their success so far this season has been their defence. Only the Premier League’s current top three have conceded fewer than their total of nine goals, whilst only those same three teams have faced a fewer number shots on target (33).
Lage’s approach seems to prioritise defensive solidity over expansive attacking play, his team rank bottom half both in terms of possession average and PPDA this season - PPDA is a metric used to analyse how aggressive a team looks to press the ball high up the pitch.
Everton also rank low down in both of these departments, with Benitez showing so far that he’s eager to make the Blues tough and robust without the ball. In fact, their possession average of 41.3% is the third-lowest in the league.
Another trait both teams share is their conservative approach to the opening exchanges in matches.
As highlighted above, both sides this season have tended to do the lion share of their goalscoring after half-time. Wolves have led at the break just once this season, whilst Everton have done so only twice.
This signals that it’s likely to be a cagey opening 45 minutes between the two teams on Monday night, with both perhaps keen to get a feel for each other before taking more risks later in the game.
READ MORE: Everton lineups at Wolves as Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Salomon Rondon decisions made
Yet given how important opening goals have proven to be for both sides, Benitez would be wise to avoid being too overcautious in his approach.
Across this season so far and the last, albeit with the caveat of being under different management, Everton and Wolves scored the opening goal on a combined 37 occasions in the Premier League, and from that total, only two of the games ended in defeats (W31, D6).
Therefore, striking first in the clash on Monday night could well prove decisive in terms of who comes away with a valuable three points.
