Everton boss Roberto Martinez will be looking for his side to gain a rare Premier League victory on Sunday against Newcastle
Everton’s struggles in the Premier League this season are well-documented, yet they are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team because of their results in the Europa League.
On Thursday night for the first 30 minutes of the Toffees Europa League game against Dynamo Kiev, they were the team that turns up for the weekend games.
However, in the resulting hour Roberto Martinez’s team suddenly woke up and eventually claimed a 2-1 victory.
The Toffees face a home game with midtable Newcastle on Sunday afternoon in a game that they really cannot afford to lose.
Better
The key to that recovery was the tempo of play. The Toffees simply produced faster passing and looked more urgent in their play. That speed of passing was a key to Everton’s good finish last season, as the Toffees finished fifth producing some breathtaking football.
That tempo and attractive style of play seems to return on European nights and record signing Romelu Lukaku looks like a £28million signing again. The young man mountain was superb in the win over Kiev, as he used his strength and power to bully the visitors defence.
Lukaku has 16 goals this season, with seven goals scored in Europe and seven in the Premier League. It seems European football suits the youngster and Lukaku suits the continental game far more than domestic football at the moment.
Found Out
Everton’s style of play has been worked out by teams in the Premier League and it seems it has been easier to combat this season. Martinez was called a tactical genius and one of the best young bosses in the English top-flight last season.
However, his tactics have now been worked out and the Spaniard seems to have difficulty in adapting those tactics. The Toffees seem to perform better when they play with a slightly more direct style, which Martinez is loath to use.
The former-Wigan boss needs to learn to adapt his tactics if he is going to be successful on Merseyside. He was able to do just that last season. However, this season he has looked lost at times in the Everton dugout.
Midtable
Newcastle travels to Goodison Park on Sunday, on the back of just one win in their last eight away games. In fact the Magpies have won just one of their last five Premier League games. To all intents and purposes they have very little to play for this season.
The Magpies look safe from relegation and they are currently 11th in the Premier League table, five points behind 10th place Swansea in league. They look like the perfect opposition for the Toffees to claim a season defining win.
Turning Point
Toffees boss Roberto Martinez has stated that Thursday night’s victory could be the turning point for Everton’s recovery this season. The last hour of the game was certainly better than the previous half hour and there were signs of the Everton of last season in the victory.
However, every time the Toffees have picked-up a European victory the fans believed that it would lead to their team recovering their form in the Premier League. It has yet to happen, as the Toffees performance after European games have been poor.
Relegation
Everton will most likely kick-off their home game against Newcastle six points clear of the relegation zone, something that would have been unimaginable at the end of last season.
The Toffees are too close for comfort to the drop zone, but realistically a few more wins would probably secure their safety. A win against Newcastle would be met by a huge sigh of relief from everybody connected with the Merseyside Blues.
Winning in the Premier League is easier said than done for Martinez’s side and until a few more wins are in the bag there will still be a few nerves amongst the Everton faithful.
Betting Odds
This game could be a key one for Everton and their Premier League campaign. The Toffees will be desperate for a win and they now have to build on that Europa League win on Thursday night.
Will Everton claim a win over Newcastle on Sunday?
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