Sam Allardyce bemoaned Everton’s inability to retain possession of the ball in their goalless draw with West Brom last time out, but their much-improved defensive structure still enabled them to escape the Hawthorns with a point - and it could be the foundation for another positive result at Dean Court.
The Toffees are now unbeaten in eight matches since Allardyce was appointed, conceding just two goals in that time compared with 25 in the eight matches prior. It’s a remarkable turnaround, even though the contrast in performances to the naked eye has been nothing like as spectacular.
The Merseysiders, already without both their first-choice full backs, also went into battle against the Baggies without Idrissa Gueye (hamstring) and Wayne Rooney (virus), but defended stoutly as a unit and were rarely troubled, despite a shot count that made the contest look distinctly one-sided. Gueye is likely to be out until mid-January, although Rooney could return here.
There was only one genuinely hairy moment in the West Midlands, when Salomon Rondon failed to connect with an in-swinging ball that was flashed across goal with barely four minutes on the clock. After that, though, the hosts were mostly reduced to efforts from distance and pumping hopeful balls into the box, many of which were met by Albion heads but always under the supervision of a touch-tight Everton marker.
It’s classic Allardyce, getting the basics right and not caring a jot about much else. And while that wouldn’t normally satisfy Goodison traditions and does scant justice to last summer’s transfer outlay, nobody is judging too harshly in the context of the campaign to date. Big Sam has carte blanche from tactical perspective until he adds more depth and variety to his squad in January.
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Bournemouth are looking altogether more creative, but a pulsating 3-3 draw with West Ham in their last outing exposed an unsettling fragility at key moments that leaves them winless in eight matches. If they fail to pick up maximum points here, it will be their longest run without a Premier League triumph in two-and-a-half years since they arrived at this level.
Most of the drama against the Hammers came late on. The Cherries were 2-1 up with 80 minutes on the clock, having spent the previous 20 in hot pursuit of a killer third. But then two Asmir Begovic blunders enabled to Marko Arnautovic to steal in for a brace that turned the game on its head, and the sinking feeling around the stadium was palpable.
In the end, Eddie Howe’s men were spared by a hotly-disputed injury-time leveller. And it should also be pointed out that, for all of their attacking enterprise, all three Bournemouth goals against the Londoners were the product of second-phase balls from set-plays, the sort of deliveries that Everton were rarely troubled by at the Hawthorns.
How the festive schedule has affected these two teams physically remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Everton have taken the more stoic approach to register successive clean sheets against Chelsea and the Baggies, during which time Bournemouth have shipped seven goals, and the visitors might have more in the tank emotionally.
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Everton to beat Bournemouth (draw no bet) at 13/10
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