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Post by evertonfan1968 on Apr 16, 2021 12:13:49 GMT
We've beaten them twice already this season. When we don't have a full team we are really bad so I think they'll beat us this time around, especially given there's some pressure on the game. |
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Post by Everton News. on Apr 16, 2021 15:49:02 GMT
DAVIES REVEALS EVERTON INCENTIVE FOR SPURS CLASH
Tom Davies insists Everton can light a fire under their Premier League campaign with victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.
Everton have claimed only two points from their past four games – following a run of three straight wins – but would rejoin the Champions League-chasing pack by defeating Spurs.
Midfielder Davies, who made his 100th Everton start in last week’s draw with Crystal Palace, was exceptional in an FA Cup success against Tottenham two months ago.
He expects to encounter a Spurs team intent on making amends for losing that nine-goal contest – and determined to keep Everton at arm’s length in the pursuit of European football.
Beat the Londoners for a third time this season – Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal of the reverse fixture – and Everton will hurdle manager Jose Mourinho’s seventh-placed team.
“We want to keep the pressure on the teams ahead of us and move closer to the top four,” said Davies.
“The game on Friday is a chance to make a big statement, to go above Tottenham and push towards the higher positions.
“Europe is important for us, if it could be Champions League, that is what we want.
“It hasn’t been our best run of late but winning a game like this would spark the confidence and light back into the team.
“We have played Tottenham twice and done well and it is an opportunity to do that again and kick-start our season.
“They are a very good side, battling for the top places, and will be right at it, knowing if we beat them, we go above them.
“It is always great to play in these types of games.”
The meeting with Spurs will mark five years to the day since Academy graduate Davies came off the bench against Southampton for a senior debut.
He is four Everton appearances short of 150 and has gained regular playing time since originally coming into the team to replace the injured Allan towards the end of 2020.
Davies was “disappointed” his 101st start, at Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday yielded only one point following a game featuring little in the way of scoring opportunities.
The 22-year-old, Everton’s lone authentic midfielder fit for duty in Sussex, delivered another tidy display, adding to the impression of a player growing comfortable in his own skin under the guidance of manager Carlo Ancelotti.
“It has been difficult with us not winning in the past few games but I’ve improved a lot this season,” said Davies.
“There are a lot of positives from it – and a lot for me to work on and improve.
“The direction the team is going and the way we are playing, I can see myself developing into the player I want to become.
“I am enjoying my football and playing for the club I love and want to keep doing that and improving and playing in the highest competitions in Europe and challenging for cups.
“These things aren’t too far away.
“It is so exciting for me to be part of a great club.
“The manager has helped me understand the game and develop.
“He gets the best out of me through training and games and talking to me about how I can play and improve.
“I owe him a lot for this year and how I have improved.
“And the staff, too, they are really good and always looking for us to get better.
“It is a good time for me to be here and I am really grateful for the opportunity.”
Everton are preparing for games against a handful of teams in their immediate vicinity in the Premier League standings.
The clash with Tottenham is followed by trips to Arsenal and West Ham United, which sandwich a visit from Aston Villa.
“Whichever team manages a good run of form, will get into those top-six spots,” added Davies.
“We are concentrating on getting into the rhythm of winning games again.
“There have been a lot of slip-ups [from rivals] and we’ve had chances to capitalise and not done it.
“Our focus is on not repeating those mistakes and ending the season as strongly as possible.
“Then, we can have no regrets.”
Everton FC
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Post by Everton News. on Apr 16, 2021 15:51:33 GMT
ANCELOTTI: 'WE ARE ENTERING CRUNCH TIME'
Tonight, we start a sequence of really important matches, against teams near us in the table and fighting for European positions.
Our objective became more difficult after the past two matches.
At Brighton, on Monday, we didn’t have a lot of midfielders and that affected what we showed on the pitch.
We don’t use injuries as an excuse. I said, always, this is part of football.
But because of the situation, we changed a little bit how we played.
We defended properly, with concentration and spirit, so in that aspect I was satisfied.
The quality going forward was not so good.
It was difficult to build from the back and connect with our strikers; we missed some balls and because of this we didn’t create enough chances.
When we tried to use counter-attacks, the final pass wasn’t precise.
Brighton pushed near the end but we were strong in the backline and the effort from the players for the whole match was at the top.
Mason Holgate went into the holding midfield position and did really well.
After the injury to Yerry Mina, we had to change again, and Mason was excellent in defence.
He was out for a long time at the beginning of the season after some complicated injuries but has recovered his condition.
Mason’s past two performance were really good and, now he is fit, he will get stronger and be a really important player for us.
We were not happy with the result against Brighton because the target was to win.
A point is okay but would have been better if we hadn’t lost two points from our mistakes against Crystal Palace.
We deserved to beat Palace, although I cannot say we were unlucky.
Our creativity was good – an improvement on the matches before – and we had chances to kill the game.
The strikers could have done better but I didn’t say that many times this season.
It can happen that you have a night when the opportunities are missed and we know about the quality of Dominic and Richarlison.
They will both score again soon and help us win more games, like they did already on a lot of occasions.
When the game is still tight in the last minutes, and your energy is falling, you can concede.
This happened after one small mistake and the lost points were the price we paid for not being clinical in the two penalty areas.
Otherwise, the performance was good. But when you have control, you need to focus to get the win you deserve.
James Rodriguez played a fantastic match against Crystal Palace after his injury.
We couldn’t risk leaving him on the pitch for 90 minutes, you have to take care when a player is coming back from some time away.
But immediately with James in the team we were more dangerous in front.
He worked hard for the whole match at Brighton, trying to help his teammates, and James can be a big influence in the rest of our season.
We welcome Jose Mourinho and the staff and players of Tottenham Hotspur.
Our recent memories of Tottenham are good, two wins from two close matches.
From those experiences, we understand the size of the challenge to achieve a third victory.
Tottenham have players of a high standard for every position, with big talents in the frontline, and we saw in the FA Cup match how they compete to the end.
Jose is a top manager, one of the best, with clear ideas defensively and offensively.
His teams are always in balance and very difficult opponents. They are in a cup final next week, which tells you about the quality.
Our league positions are close and if we can win it will take back some points we dropped in home matches.
The next games are all against direct competitors for Europe and we will keep fighting for this goal.
It is important to have some players back in top condition, the squad has been really short and the ones who are fit again will add energy and ability.
Because of the situation with injuries we had a lot of Academy players in our squad and at Brighton there was a small chance for Nathan Broadhead.
He has good qualities for a striker, fast and clinical in the box, and is showing in training he is a player who can play with us.
Robin Olsen was back for the past two games after a difficult time. He is a fantastic guy and really good goalkeeper.
We like having him at Everton and hope this can continue.
Finally, we moved one more step closer to our normal lives this week.
Please enjoy the extra freedom but continue to respect the guidelines, so we can have normality, and supporters inside Goodison, as soon as
possible.
Enjoy the game,
Carlo.
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Post by Everton News. on Apr 16, 2021 15:53:24 GMT
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Post by Everton News. on Apr 16, 2021 18:07:29 GMT
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