Stoke Preview

 

You imagine that the majority of the build up to Sunday's game will be dominated by mention of Gary Speed - there is talk of a presentation by former players and the like, and the club normally do this sort of thing superbly - but make no mistake, the visit of Stoke City remains an important game for David Moyes' Everton.

 

Despite the money they've spent, Stoke remain absolutely horrible. They come to this game on the back of an important win against the useless Blackburn Rovers, but parts of that game were the worst kind of Sunday League shite. It's simple - they will come to Goodison and look to smack long balls at some carthorse like Peter Crouch or Kenwyne Jones, play for set pieces and try to exploit the long throw of Rory Delap. You know what's coming, Everton - deal with it.

 

That said, the Toffees aren't doing too badly at the moment either. Two wins on the spin and confidence should be high heading into this one. It would be a surprise if Moyes went with anything other than the team which started at Bolton - the one possibility could be Sylvain Distin returning in defence to add that extra bit of height. If we stand up to Stoke, and keep an eye on the good players they do have, such as Etherington and Walters, we should get the result. As a simplistic example, Fellaini and Osman should not fear a midfield of Delap and Glen Whelan. A lot will also depend on players who have, in the past, been questionable in the more 'rough and ready' games - like Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and, most importantly, Louis Saha - he's got to be willing to battle Stoke's mutant back four and hold the ball up for our midfield runners.

 

This game's all about attitude - if we're tough, a third consecutive win is there for the taking. If we're not, we risk a repeat of the horror show on New Year's Day at the Britannia.

 

Over to you, Everton.

 

Last 5 at home to Stoke:

 

Oct 2010: Everton 1-0 Stoke (FAPL) - Fresh from a comfortable derby win, Everton survive Stoke's alehouse attack and secure the points thanks to a beauty from Yakubu - it was to be the big smiley hunk's last for the club.

 

Oct 2009: Everton 1-1 Stoke (FAPL) - Everton's stuttering start to the season continues, as despite having the better of the game they fall behind to a Robert Huth goal. Leon Osman quickly equalises, bending an absolutely sublime shot into the top corner, but the Toffees fail to find a winner.

 

Mar 2009: Everton 3-1 Stoke (FAPL) - With a Wembley appearance on the horizon, Everton comfortably see off the Potters thanks to goals from Jo, Joleon Lescott and the newly dreadlocked Marouane Fellaini.

 

Nov 1984: Everton 4-0 Stoke (Div 1) - Howard Kendall's title chasers are in a blistering run of form, and dispatch of the soon-to-be-relegated Stoke with goals from Adrian Heath (2), Trevor Steven and a rare Peter Reid effort.

 

Aug 1983: Everton 1-0 Stoke (Div 1) - With barely a hint of what was to come over the next two years, Kendall's emerging team start the season with a battling 1-0 victory courtesy of young striker Graeme Sharp.

 

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