The beady eyes of Farhad Moshiri burn holes into the back of Marco Silva’s head, breathing down the Portuguese’s neck with his finger twitching at the trigger and a rubber-faced Scot stood behind him; waiting to make an unwelcome return.
Silva is hanging on by a thread at Goodison Park; with the fans riling up a mutiny to push him out of the club, so what better time is there to play the most in-form team in the league – who have scored a measly 17 goals and conceded only one in their last five games. Meanwhile, the Foxes have been ripping their prey to shreds as of late and have muscled their way into the category of ‘genuine title contenders’. So can Everton really overcome this Leicester side at the King Power Stadium?
Probably not. But here are some on-pitch battles to keep an eye out for as Marco sweats on the touchline.
Wes Morgan vs Cenk Tosun
With Leicester steamrolling teams like a well-oiled machine in recent weeks, the only fault that could arise is the omission of Jonny Evans due to the intense cramp that he sustained against Brighton which will limit his training regimen. This could make way for veteran club icon Wes Morgan to make a return to the side, bringing the experience and physicality needed to partner alongside Çağlar Söyüncü but perhaps lacking the ball control that Evans possesses more.
On the other hand, Everton’s technical Turkish target-man has been spearing their attack as of late; slowly starting to show glimpses of what was promised after his move from Beşiktaş in January of last year. With the sole-striker relying on supply from the trifecta of midfielders behind him, Morgan will need to nullify Tosun physically to cut off Everton’s threat whilst the more mobile Söyüncü and Wilfred Ndidi cleans up the other attacking threat.
Jamie Vardy vs Jordan Pickford
With Everton’s defence being dubbed as below par recently; Mason Holgate especially being scapegoated against Norwich, reliance may be on England’s number one to shut out his fellow no-nonsense countryman who is lavishing in his unbelievably clinical form.
Vardy, who is sat atop of the league’s top scorer chart with 12, will be expected to exploit Everton’s lack of defensive structure and latch on to through balls – creating one-on-one scenarios with Pickford who is most renowned for his reflex saves, ability to cover tight angles and quick movement off his line. Vardy is arguably the best striker in the league at the moment, but Pickford has the chance to make life hard for Vardy’s power-driven shooting style.
Wilfred Ndidi vs Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison
Wilfred Ndidi is the Premier League’s biggest workhorse. The Nigerian covers an extraordinary amount of the pitch and has made more tackles (61) and more interceptions (37) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season, making him more than capable of suppressing arguably Everton’s two most talented players.
Sigurdsson aims to pick up the ball in the central channels and feed it either down the flanks or up to Tosun, whereas Richarlison aims to play almost as an inside-forward, drifting more central. Ndidi acts almost as this quasi-sweeper defender, anchoring the defensive line and dispossessing attacking players. If Everton have any morsel of hope in beating a red-hot Leicester side, they’re going to need to produce something special to smash down the wall of Ndidi – something that hasn’t been seen in a Marco Silva Everton outfit for a while.
