Fulham have been praised for their impressive start to the 2024/25 campaign, but Everton will level with the Cottagers’ 11 points if they defeat them in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
A four-match skid to kick things off has been forgotten, with Sean Dyche’s side’s unbeaten run stretching to five matches if they indeed manage to repel the London side at Goodison Park.
Fulham boss Marco Silva has created stability and comparative success for his new club, in his first managerial role since being sacked by Everton in 2019.
He’s also succeeded in dominating his former Toffees outfit across recent years, crafting a five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
23/24
Craven Cottage
0-0 draw
23/24
Goodison Park
1-0 loss
22/23
Goodison Park
3-1 loss
22/23
Craven Cottage
0-0 draw
20/21
Goodison Park
2-0 loss
20/21
Craven Cottage
3-2 win
But Dyche has demonstrated his powers of recovery and will look to score a statement victory that would put his side within touching distance of the top half, with several key players looking to return from the sidelines.
Everton team news
Let’s start with the biggest and best news: Jarrad Branthwaite is in line to return to the starting line-up this evening after recovering from a quad injury that has limited him to one start all season.
Jesper Lindstrom has also beaten off illness and will be looking to oust Jack Harrison on the right flank, though Harrison was impressive in the victory over Ipswich Town last weekend, winning eight duels and completing two dribbles, as per Sofascore.
Sadly, Armando Broja is still not fit, with the midfield weakened by James Garner and Tim Oroegbunam’s unavailability too. Wrestling for agency in the middle of the park may well determine the fixture, but luckily for the hosts, Fulham have quite the injury issue of their own, with Sasa Lukic still out of action.
Saka Lukic's absence is a big boost
When Bayern Munich finally succeeded in their bid to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham, purchasing him for a £47.5m fee in July, the west Londoners felt they had lost their tough-tackling lifeblood.
Palhinha won the most tackles in the Premier League last year, with 158 (he finished first the term previous, too, with 148). And though he’s gone, Fulham have found a new midfield hero in Lukic. For Everton, his forthcoming absence at Goodison Park is music, sweet music.
The Serbia international is injured and will not be back “for the next three, four weeks at the least,” as Silva admitted during his pre-match conference.
The 28-year-old missed out as Craven Cottage fell to Aston Villa in the top flight last weekend, and his technique and combativeness were keenly missed. Everton must exploit Fulham’s continued loss, and they must do so by unleashing Orel Mangala in midfield.
Dyche must unleash Orel Mangala
With Amadou Onana sold to Villa this summer in a £50m deal, placating PSR and turning the points-deduction cannon elsewhere, the Blues were free to tackle the 2024/25 campaign head-on – but they needed fresh legs in the engine room.
The aforementioned Iroegbunam was welcomed from Villa Park but is sidelined. Mangala was also brought in from Lyon on a season-long loan deal, having previously caught the eye in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest.
Mangala must start, and though Dyche would likely need to bench Abdoulaye Doucoure to find room for his summer recruit, there’s just cause to enforce the change, with the Belgium international more robust, athletic, crisp and commanding in defensive phases.
Matches (starts)
5 (3)
7 (6)
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
0
Touches*
31.4
35.3
Pass completion
89%
82%
Key passes*
0.2
0.9
Dribbles*
0.8
0.4
Ball recoveries*
3.2
4.4
Tackles + interceptions*
3.4
1.6
Ground duels won*
3.0 (56%)
2.0 (45%)
Though Doucoure is undoubtedly the more creative of the two, it is Mangala who must be entrusted with a starting berth alongside number six Idrissa Gueye, for Dwight McNeil stands proud of the midfield realm and has averaged 3.1 key passes per game this term, with three goals and there assists apiece.
This trinity of midfield talent can hurt Fulham, diminish their threat. FBref records that Lukic ranks among the top 7% of Premier League midfielders in 2024/25 for pass completion, with a success rate of 91%.
Fulham, as a unit, have averaged a 50.6% possession average so far this year, whereas Everton sit 18th in that chart with a 40% average. Lukic’s absence will hurt this, weaken control.
Even with Lukic shackled to the sideline, it would be foolish to assume that the Toffees are going to approach the match with ball domination to mirror that of Manchester City, but it will help those in the middle break up play, and secure purchase, sending the ball forward to Harrison and Iliman Nidaye, who can lance through Cottager bulwarks to find focal frontman Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
It will all come from the heart, and Mangala, Everton’s most accurate midfield distributor in the league this year, with an 89% success rate, can make a marked impact indeed, especially since Lukic’s replacement against Villa, Sander Berge, was branded with a 3.5/10 match rating by Fulhamish, who cited his weak grip on the role, with his counterpart Onana carving him and Andreas Pereira (3/10) open as if a school of fish.
Of course, the in-form McNeil will play a key role in advancing Everton’s counter-attacks, but Mangala could be the deep-lying architect, who has been hailed as an “unbelievable” talent by former Forest teammate Dean Henderson, who also praised his workrate, application and willingness to take control.
The 5 foot 10 midfielder, welcomed to Merseyside to add some impetus and depth to the middle of the field, must now be provided with the trust to forge further success for an Everton side that maybe, just maybe, might be able to achieve impressive things this season.
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