Everton vs Southampton: Carabao Cup preview | What next for the crisis-hit Toffees?
09/17/2024 05:38 AM
Sean Dyche's side seem to be the Premier League's resident comedy club
The footballing version of the Truman Show continues.
Evertonians can justifiably ask how much more heartache and disappointment they can take after another crushing defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Most supporters I know had little belief that the Toffees would close out the win even when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home the second goal. And when Ollie Watkins pulled one back the eventual comeback felt inevitable.
In mitigation, Villa's second goal was from a mistake and their winner was an incredible strike from distance, and Calvert-Lewin missed two great chances at 2-1 and 3-2. So in isolation it was a slightly unfortunate defeat away at a very good team. But coming off the back of three straight defeats it only enhances the sense of gloom around the club.
Yet things can change very quickly.
Unlike the Bournemouth game Everton only have to wait three days for their next match. A win against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday will help lift the mood ahead of what looks a crucial game at Leicester next weekend.
Off the pitch if the takeover situation can be resolved in the next few months then some of the uncertainty that has dogged the club for the last few years will be lifted.
It has been tough being an Evertonian recently - but there are some shafts of light amidst the gloom
The opposition
Southampton are back in the big time after just one season in the Championship but it has been a difficult start for Russell Martin's side.
Like Everton they have lost all four league games so far, conceding eight and scoring just one. Their only victory was a 5-3 win at Cardiff in the previous round.
As such I expect Martin to make changes to his side - though like Everton they will need a result to lift the mood.
They did win on their last visit to Goodison Park in January 2023, a day marred by (unproven) allegations of threats against the Everton board and a small group of fans confronting players after the final whistle.
Team news
Sean Dyche says Nathan Patterson and Jarrad Branthwaite are unlikely to feature as they continue their recovery from injuries that wiped out their pre-season. Both players returned to training last week but Dyche says they will not be rushed back.
Deadline day loan signing Orel Mangala, who came off the bench at Villa on Saturday, is in line to make his first start.
Previous meeting
Everton 1-2 Southampton, 14 January 2023
A miserable day all round at Goodison Park. Amadou Onana's first half header was cancelled out by a James Ward-Prowse's double after the break, lifting bottom side Saints level on points with the Toffees.
It was Everton's seventh defeat in eight games. Manager Frank Lampard was sacked after an eighth defeat at West Ham the following week.
What they said
Everton manager Sean Dyche: "There will be changes. We will get players minutes who do need match time back out there.
"The physical aspect of having three games in a week affects how we work this week, so the approach has to be slightly different to anything hugely physical because of the demand on the players those games will bring, especially because we are down in numbers in certain areas.
"I've spoken about it before, with all due respect to the cups because they are important but they're not as important as the Premier League, the Premier League is vital.
"We are going to have to play certain players, who we maybe wouldn't have wanted to play in a totally ideal scenario, because they need the minutes and we need them back and challenging for us."
Southampton boss Russell Martin: "It's the most important thing now, the Everton game. There will be changes, there will be players who need to stake a claim for their place in the team because we haven't won, albeit there are so many positives, and there will be some players who need to build on today, grow again and try to improve on their performance and learn again in our way of doing things.
"I'm quite excited about it, actually. It's a tough fixture for a cup game, going away, but I think it'll be a really good one."
Final word
Both managers will see this as the ideal opportunity to kick-start their seasons after a difficult start. With both teams likely to be much-changed it is difficult to predict how it will pan out. But any sort of win for Everton would be significant given the contest of their campaign so far.
