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Tottenham v. Everton: 5 reasons to back Spurs to overcome the Toffees

By Rucker Haringey

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 03: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Tom Cleverley of Everton during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park on January 3, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 03: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Tom Cleverley of Everton during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park on January 3, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Everton’s Ashley Williams during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on January 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer – CameraSport via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Everton’s Ashley Williams during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on January 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer – CameraSport via Getty Images) /

2. Everton’s centre backs are too passive

Both Ashley Williams and Ramiro Funes Mori are perfectly capable Premier League centre backs. Unfortunately, neither man has played aggressively enough to handle Tottenham’s attack this season.

Amazingly, the pair only have two yellow cards between them all season in Premier League play per Whoscored.com. Both of those belong to Williams. Amazingly, Funes Mori hasn’t been booked in league play all season.

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On one hand, you have to complement the pair for their discretion. You don’t want to see your central defensive pairing giving away a ton of fouls and bookings. However, you do have to accept a certain number of cards if they are going to really be a physical threat to the opposition.

Everton’s pairing haven’t found the right mix this season. If they want to keep Harry Kane off the score sheet, they are going to need to play a physical match. That isn’t the sort of thing you just switch on when you face a tough opponent.

It’s even possible the pair might try to overcompensate against Spurs. Bet on them to engage in one extreme or the other. They will either play a soft match that lets Kane run roughshod or they’ll try to be really physical and find themselves giving up silly fouls.

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