What Can Tottenham Expect from Everton?

Tottenham’s Premier League opener on Saturday will pit them against an Everton team that is very much in transition.

Despite the fact that Ronald Koeman took over for Roberto Martínez on June 14th, Everton have only just made moves to reinforce a squad that struggled to find a rhythm for the last two seasons.

That’s not a huge problem on the surface. The Blues retain (for now) the services of Romelu Lukaku and Gerard Deulofeu after all, and have enough depth in many positions to at the very least put a decent team together.

The problem, of course, is that Everton want to be better than decent. They aim to again reach for a spot in Europe as Martínez did his first term with the club. For Koeman to be able to do that he will need upgrades in a small handful of positions, not least of which is central defense.

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Manchester City’s successful acquisition of John Stones makes that latter point all the more vital. Phil Jagielka is getting older and Ramiro Funes Mori isn’t the most reliable player — and with Stones gone they are the only two options left on the first team. News this week that Ashley Williams has been purchased from Swansea is a welcome boost, but it likely won’t be all Everton need. Sunderland’s Lamine Koné is rumored to be Koeman’s next target.

One of the club’s first moves on the transfer market this summer was to secure Idrissa Gueye from recently relegated Aston Villa.

The Senegalese defensive midfielder was one of the only bright points in an otherwise terrible Aston Villa side, and should do a lot to make up for the deficiencies of an aging Gareth Barry and an uneven James McCarthy. With Mohamed Besic unlikely to start against Tottenham, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen will likely be tasked with getting around Gueye early and often.

Elsewhere Tottenham can expect to go up against a fairly familiar Everton side. Lukaku might miss the match, but Deulofeu can expect to be joined potentially by former Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon and Ross Barkley. There’s a chance that Everton might complete their rumored move for Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie by the weekend, in which case the Congolese will be a presumptive starter himself.

Put together this could eventually be a very competitive Everton team after the additions of Williams, Gueye and Bolasie. Pochettino might feel fortunate to be facing them so early in their attempts to gel.

Generally speaking, the opening stages of this Premier League season might be defined in large part by just how much ground a settled Tottenham side will be able to gain early against sides who are still settling on their best XIs. Saturday’s match might be the best example of such a distinction.

There’s no denying that Koeman knows how to build an effective team. He overachieved with Feyenoord and Southampton and arguably will have the resources at a newly wealthy Everton to eventually complete on the edges of the Premier League’s top six.

Next: Who Starts for Tottenham Against Everton?

How quickly he can get to that point with Everton remains to be seen, but Tottenham will be relieved that it won’t be anywhere close to immediate.

Which isn’t to say that Tottenham can expect an easy win. It might even be more difficult given how much more guesswork will be necessary to figure who starts for Everton and where. Still, there’s no discounting the fact that Pochettino knows his best Tottenham side and will be able to field it come Saturday afternoon.