Joe Thomas: Priority is the tactics - and giving youth chance in second half
It’s sweltering in Baltimore today but that hasn’t stopped the Blues coming out in force. The popular harbour area is full of Everton shirts in the build up to tonight’s game, the club’s first of pre-season.
We know there will be lots of changes and we know not to read too much into what happens. But with the season three weeks away I would like to see this fixture taken reasonably seriously - at least at the start.
What I’m looking for as a priority is the tactics. At the end of last season Frank Lampard had to be pragmatic. The context - including injuries - meant accepting the side would have less possession and therefore less control over games. It is no secret Lampard wants to be more progressive.
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Conversations with staff in the US suggest an eventual desire for more intensity, and for greater pressing, and an effort to play out from the back. But with the loss of Richarlison, and the only signing so far being James Tarkowski, it will be interesting to see whether Lampard currently believes he has the players to fulfil those ambitions.
I’d like to give four at the back a go and see if 4-3-3 can work. Therefore I’m starting with the below side and hoping to see youth get a chance in the second half, specifically Isaac Price, Lewis Dobbin and Ellis Simms.
My first-half team (4-3-3): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Godfrey, Mykolenko; Alli, Iwobi, Doucoure; Gordon, Gray, Calvert-Lewin.
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It's still very early days in terms of preparation for the new season so there will be mix-and-match sides in either half. It would be no surprise if Frank Lampard fielded two separate teams.
The first-half team then sees Jordan Pickford in goal, Nathan Patterson at right-back, James Tarkowski and Michael Keane in the centre, with Vitalii Mykolenko at left-back.
In midfield, Lewis Warrington should be given the nod next to Abdoulaye Doucoure with Dele in front of them. Anthony Gordon should start on one wing, with Alex Iwobi on the other, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin should be tasked with leading the line.
For the second half, one imagines Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate, Tom Davies, Andre Gomes, Demarai Gray and Salomon Rondon will all get minutes.
My first-half team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Warrington, Doucoure; Gordon, Dele, Iwobi; Calvert-Lewin.
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The last time Everton played a competitive fixture it was against Arsenal on the final day of the Premier League season. On that balmy Sunday afternoon, with the haze of the remarkable comeback against Crystal Palace three days before still lingering, Lampard made the decision to make wholesale changes.
It means that the team he fields in Everton's first pre-season fixture against the Gunners on Saturday will likely be a stronger one than Mikel Arteta and his players ran into at the Emirates Stadium back in May. From a royal blue perspective, hopefully it yields a better result that the 5-1 reverse in north London.
It will be intriguing to see what system the Blues shape up in, as the team played almost exclusively in a 5-4-1 system late last term. With the squad stacked with defenders and still waiting to fill a Richarlison-shaped void in attack, expect a back-heavy XI.
James Tarkowski starts in defence and it will be fascinating to see which players are selected to partner him. Meanwhile, Nathan Patterson should be given a chance as a right wing-back, with Seamus Coleman sidelined.
Alex Iwobi may be moved forward from the slot defensive he occupied with gusto late last season, while Dele Alli - who is surely the player of most intrigue in the Everton squad this pre-season - can operate in midfield.
With Allan injured, Everton's lack of defensive midfield options have been exposed, meaning Abdoulaye Doucoure will need to operate with more discipline in the the engine room.
My first-half team (5-4-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Mina, Godfrey, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Doucoure, Alli, Gordon; Calvert-Lewin.
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