There is no doubt that Everton are on the march at present and our resident Toffees fans in the Transfer Tavern could not be happier about the team’s form.
Saying that, one thing that they are unhappy about is the recent revelation that top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, has said he will not sign a new contract with the club, meaning that the blue half of Merseyside are consigned to losing their current favourite in the summer, unless there is a dramatic change of heart from the big Belgian.
Trying his best to raise the spirit of his Evertonian drinkers in the Transfer Tavern, our landlord has pointed towards the fact that Everton have lost just one of their last 12 games in the Premier League, in a run which has seen them produce a mountain of goals as they climbed to seventh in the table.
The visitors to Goodison Park this weekend are Hull City and they provided a minor blip within Everton’s recent strong form in December, when they held the Toffees to a 2-2 draw at the KCOM stadium in which Ross Barkley was the visitor’s saviour, as his 84th minute header snatched a late draw.
Ronald Koeman will be looking for a stronger performance this time around against the Tigers, and our landlord has outlined the XI that the Dutchman should use in order to tame the Tigers on Saturday…..
GK: Joel Robles
Joel has done an outstanding job for the Toffees since former first choice, Maarten Stekelenburg went off injured in the Merseyside derby in December, so much so that Stekelenburg cannot get back in the starting XI.
RB: Seamus Coleman
Do our resident Everton fans need to worry that Coleman is being lined up to replace the retiring Phillip Lahm at Bayern?
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We expect to see
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The Everton captain was restored to the line-up for the 3-0 win over West Brom and our landlord expects him to keep his place in the XI.
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The Welsh captain has been a shrewd addition to the Toffees’ back line since moving from Swansea in the summer.
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LB: Leighton Baines
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His excellent ability to defend as well as attack make him such a useful asset.
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The 18-year-old has delighted Everton fans in the Tavern with a series of outstanding performances for the Toffees.
At such a young age, Davies is only going to develop and become a better footballer as he gets older.
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The experienced campaigner adds an extra layer of protection to Everton’s back line.
His combative nature make him an excellent person to have in the midfield, alongside the youthfulness of Tom Davies.
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Everton fans in the Tavern have been nothing but singing the praises of their January signing since his move from Manchester United.
Everton seems to be the perfect platform for him to exhibit his excellent technical ability.
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RAM: Ross Barkley
Scorer of the equaliser the last time these two sides met, Barkley has rediscovered the form that saw him touted as England’s next hope in recent weeks.
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LAM: Kevin Mirallas
A quiet season by the Belgian’s standard, Mirallas will be looking to get into the game against a Hull side currently flirting with relegation.
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ST: Romelu Lukaku
Everyone associated with Everton will be hoping Lukaku is not distracted by the transfer speculation surrounding him and can continue to show the form that has seen him lead the Premier League scoring charts, with 19 goals this season.
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