Still smarting no doubt from the controversial finale to their visit to Blackburn last Saturday, Everton return to Goodison Park for their only home Premier League fixture in the month of February where they will play host to Reading. The villains of the piece, Messers Wiley and Hunter, have been given a slap on the wrist and barred from officiating this weekend (Wiley will play fourth official) but that will be of scant consolation to Everton who won’t get the two extra points they earned at Ewood Park.
Officially goalless, though, in their last three games, Everton will be hoping that a game against the team currently sitting one place above the drop zone, on a six-match losing run, and with one of the worst defensive records in the division ó Reading shipped seven at Portsmouth and six at Tottenham ó will help them get back on the shoresheet and into winning ways.
The expectation was that Yakubu would be back and that David Moyes could make immediate use of his goal threat but the NIgerian striker returned two days late from Africa Cup of Nations duty and has been dropped from the squad for this weekend’s game. He may feel more of the manager’s wrath and be omitted for the first leg against Brann as well.
Joseph Yobo chose to fly straight back from Ghana, though, but he could miss out on a starting role for entirely different reasons. The form of Phil Jagielka alongside Joleon Lescott has been excellent in recent games so there is no guarantee that Yobo will walk straight back into the starting line-up. In the end, it may be Leighton Baines’ fitness that is the deciding factor; Baines has been struggling with an ankle complaint but still managed to play in the goalless draws against Tottenham and Blackburn. If he isn’t fit enough to play this weekend, Lescott may move out to left back again.
Which formation Moyes chooses may now be down to the Tim Cahill factor. The Australian flew back from his home country on Thursday having played for most of the Socceroos 3-0 win over Qatar but the length of the flight and the consequent jetlag means that it is not clear yet whether he will play any part for the Blues this weekend.
Mikel Arteta, Manuel Fernandes, Leon Osman and Lee Carsley are all expected to play come what may; Steve Pienaar is out injured but has an outside chance of being fit for the midweek visit to Bergen for the Uefa Cup clash with SK Brann.
With the Blues’ nearest challengers for the much-coveted fourth spot, Liverpool, visiting Chelsea and the West Londoners haven’t lost a league game on home soil for over 3 years; victory over Reading is vital and anything less would be considered a massive letdown. Should Rafael Benitez’s side lose and Everton win, it would open a four point gap between the two sides.
Additionally, most of the teams in proximity below Everton face difficult away games this weekend: Manchester City are at Old Trafford for the Manchester derby; Blackburn travel to Arsenal and Portsmouth are at Bolton. Only Aston Villa will fancy a relatively easy ride against Newcastle United.
Certainly, Yak or no Yak, Moyes’s boys have what it takes to see off Steve Coppell’s struggling Royals but they should beware that while Reading are apt to concede goals, they can also score them at the other end.
