So... Finally, after months of excitement, anticipation and transfer speculation, we are back!! And we are Premier League. No, we do not start our year on a souless trip to a roundabout town like Milton Keynes. We start this seasons adventure at a club which has barely left the top flight (not since 1954 and only two seasons overall). Stadium Goodison Park, built in 1892 for £3000, is one which has hosted both the maximum number of home games available in Premier League history, and more top flight games than any other stadium in England. At capacity, it holds 39571, making it the 10th largest club football stadium in England. Form Everton go into this season following a very disappointing season where they finished 11th. The fear must be that after claiming Moyes was underachieving, in fact the opposite was true and that Martinez' one good season could have been down to the defensive stability which Moyes put in place. In their last 5 games of last season, they lost 3 and won 2, although one of those was a 3-0 win over Manchester United. In terms of pre-season, they have won three, and lost their last two. As have we. Spoiler Everton Pre-season: Swindon 0-4 Everton (Mirallas x2, Lukaku, McAleny) Everton *0-0 Stoke City (5-4 Pens) Everton 1-3 Arsenal (Barkley) Hearts 1-3 Everton (Lukaku, Lukaku Pen x2) Dundee 0-2 Everton (McAleny, Barkley Pen) Leeds United 2-0 Everton Everton 1-2 Villarreal (Browning) Watford Pre-season: St Albans City 0-4 Watford (Ighalo x2, Deeney, Smith) AFC Wimbledon 2-2 Watford (Ighalo, Forestieri) SC Verl 1-4 Watford (Ighalo x2, Anya, Dyer) Paderborn 0-2 Watford (Vydra, Ighalo) Dundee United 0-1 Watford (Deeney) Cardiff 2-1 Watford (Deeney) Watford 0-1 Sevilla Head to Head If Everton are starting to get worried (taken from another thread), the head to head stats should calm their fears. They have a 100% win rate against us at home, and overall have an 84% win rate when facing us in all competitions. Ouch. Squad and signings The Blues open their Premier League campaign at home to newly promoted Watford with just three signings added so far this summer. Martinez said: "We will never bring a player in for the sake of it and to fill a position." Everton have signed forward Gerard Deulofeu, midfielder Tom Cleverley and forward David Henen this summer. Watford have taken an alternative approach and signed ten new players. Spoiler Predicted line-ups Random facts Everton have conceded more goals on the opening weekend than any other Barclays Premier League team (35). Watford's last defeat on the opening weekend of a season was back in 2006/07 vs Everton; the last time they were in the BPL. The four previous matches between these teams in the competition have all had a goal scored in the final five minutes. This will be the sixth Barclays Premier League match between two Spanish managers and Roberto Martinez has appeared in five of them (v Rafael Benitez three times, Pepe Mel once and now Quique Sanchez Flores. The other was Benitez v Juande Ramos).
I think we'll win, actually. Naismith will grab a late consolation after Deeney and Ighalo (x2) run riot at Goodison. 3-1.
Think we'll lose but put in an encouraging performance. They might have a fair few injuries but it's still one of the tougest places to go to. I'll say 2-1 Everton with Deeney getting our goal.
Everton 4-1 Watford Tough afternoon for the hornets as the fans boo the players for not clapping them, ultimately the beginning of a torrid season. Bottom by Christmas. Relegated by Easter. Roll on Rotherham away August 6th 2016.
I think we will lose and comfortably. But we've always struggled there so it's no biggy. Survival will be won elsewhere.
A draw would be a good result. Think though we will lose 2-0 with predictable meltdown on social media.
We've not lost on the opening day of a league season for 9 years now...the last time we did was, er, away at Everton. Since Boothroyd, the only one of our 8 Head Coaches/Managers to lose his first official match in charge was our only other Spanish one..Garcia! Malky lost his first match as caretaker, but not his first one after being confirmed in the post. #notwishingtotempfate! This match will be our 4th opening day fixture in the top division in our history, and 3 of those will have been against Everton! Different division I know so the stat is somewhat diluted, but we go into the match unbeaten in 7 league games. We're unbeaten in our last 9 away matches. We're unbeaten in our last 2 Premier League matches! We won our last away match in the Premier League (away at Reading).
I know I am being dumb as a box of rocks but.....what does that mean exactly? I'm reading it as we have only spent four seasons in the top flight.
No, it means we've been promoted 4 times to the top division. Under GT in the early 80s being the first time..the old First Division as it was back then. Our opening day fixture was Everton at home! Then to the PL under GT and again under AB.
I reckon 3-1 Everton. We'll go in half time 1-1 and match them for 60 minutes before they show their experience and just pull away. That said a win/draw for us is certainly possible, especially with the injuries they have and the fact they massively underachieved last year. Crazy to think that Palace finished above Everton last year.
We'll lose 2-1 after conceding a late controversial penalty, via a dubious handball conceded by Chris Powell/Daniel Pudil/Jose Holebas (delete as appropriate).
The last goal we ever scored in the PL was a penalty! Let's hope we get our fair share this time round too.
I'm not basing anything on their previous season performance. Virtually every team in the Europa league under performs in the premier League in the same season, struggling to win on Sunday after a tough away trip to outer Mongolia. Without that hanging over them this year they should do marginally better. Hope for win. Settle for a draw. Expecting a marginal loss.
A tough place to go for any team in this league, let alone a newly promoted team. I personally feel that if Everton keep Stones and get everyone fit quickly they should be challenging for the top 8. Everton away won't define our season win lose or draw, it's games like WBA at home the following week that will be points we look back on come May. A result here is a bonus. A good time to play them as they're not in full flow yet and they have a few injury concerns, but then so do we. Abdi is a huge loss and if Jurado is out that's almost all of our central creativity gone. Berghuis potentially will be a big player for us but is nowhere near ready, I don't expect to see much from him until around October time. Impact player off the bench at the moment to feel his way into it. I would like to and expect to see QSF set us up hard to break down but have the threat of Vydra and Anya's pace on the break to support TD. Behrami and Capoue will need to have a big game to stop Everton playing. We need to be setting our stall out for a clean sheet (which is achievable with our new look back four and holding midfielders) and looking to grab something on the break. Head says 1-0 defeat, heart says 0-1 with a counter attacking goal from Vydra. It could be anything but I don't expect to see lots of goal action from us yet until we can incorporate Abdi, Jurado and Berghuis/Vydra into a 'three' behind either Deeney or Ighalo.
A narrow defeat. Losing at Everton won't define the season. Whereas I don't think signing 10 players is too much, it's I think it will take a bit longer to come together.
The result isn't going to worry me unless Goodison becomes our abattoir. What I fear is going to worry me is the formation not showing any signs of working for us and us not actually threatening the opposition goal at all. As in some of the friendlies.
Im hoping we try to keep the ball when playing out of defence as if we play it long the pressure will tell, no matter how defensive we have been set up. We will defo get 1 or 2 chances and the telling point is if we take them or not.
I fear a little about the formation but I don't recall us scoring a hat full of goals last pre season either
I actually feel more confident of getting something at Everton than I do at home to Brom. Opening days often throw up a few unexpected results. I'd be disappointed if we're not one. Everton are slow starters too usually.
It'll be alright on the night. Forget the silly friendlies now. Everton 0-4 Watford Two from Deeney, from crosses by Nyom and Holebas. A Vydra goal on the break, and a 40 yard screamer from Capoue will send out a terrifying statement of intent to the rest of this division, and later cause the MoTD pundits to grit their teeth and look like they're each trying to commentate with a cactus rammed up their arse.
A loss to the new boys won't define their season. They've got plenty out injured and are notorious slow starters. They won't be looking to set up defensively against a team they ought to be beating, and that will be their undoing. The scousers go into antisocial meltdown as the cockerney boys score a couple on the break. 2-1 to the Orns.
Narrow 2-1 defeat followed by, "these tactics will never work" outcry and the team being boo'd off at half time when 1-0 down v WBA by the same individuals who wrote off Joka after 3 games.
