Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Everton manager Ronald Koeman could hand first Premier League starts to new arrivals Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie, but Seamus Coleman remains out with an ankle injury.
James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverley are deemed “small doubts” by Koeman but could still feature.
Swiss playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri could return from an ankle injury for Stoke.
It is still too early for injured pair Jack Butland and Glen Johnson to make their first appearances of the season.
Everton picked up their first win of the season last week against West Brom and not only would they be celebrating those three points they will also be boosted by the fact that Romelu Lukaku is staying put for at least another season. Whether that turns out to be a marriage of convenience remains to be seen.
Everton fans will be hoping that Lukaku at least matches the goal scoring efforts of last season but that comes with the caveat that the better he plays then the more he puts himself in the shop window for a move next Summer. Lukaku is staying for now but don’t be surprised if we have to go through this whole process again in 12 months time.
As for Stoke they were comfortably beaten by Manchester City last weekend as Pep Guardiola continues to make his imprint in the Premier League but Mark Hughes’ side will be able to take their League Cup win in the midweek as a positive and look to build on that first competitive win of the season.
Toffees will be more than pleased with their 4 points from the opening two matches and their is no reason why they can’t pick up their first home win of the season this afternoon. Last season saw Stoke win a sensational 4-3 thriller at Goodison Park but I’d be very surprised if Ronald Koeman showed the same level of defensive naivety that Roberto Martinez did and therefore I can’t see that kind of scoreline being repeated this afternoon.
I think on the evidence of what we’ve seen from both sides after their first two matches then Everton should just about edge this encounter. I’ll go for an Everton win and both teams to score but the blue half of Merseyside should be smiling come 5pm this afternoon.
