Everton vs. Hull: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape Premier League Game
Everton welcome Hull City to Goodison Park on Wednesday, with both sides aiming to bounce back from recent defeats.
Roberto Martinez's side fell to a disappointing 2-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, which saw them slip to 10th place in the Premier League table.
A day earlier, a 3-0 drubbing for Hull against Manchester United meant the Tigers have now suffered four straight defeats. Steve Bruce's side currently lie 17th in the league, only above the relegation zone on goal difference.
Everton won both fixtures between these sides last season, winning this fixture 2-1, with Gareth Barry, Steven Pienaar and Yannick Sagbo getting on the scoresheet.
In the Premier League era, Everton have four wins and a draw from six meetings with Hull and have taken three points from all three home games.
Here's a look at some of the key factors set to shape this tie.
Everton's Need to Find the Right Balance in Attack
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One of Martinez's most pressing issues is to find the right balance behind his striker.
Everton will generally field two deeper midfielders and one forward, and it's the three players in between that have become a concern.
Samuel Eto'o's class and Steven Naismith's form have kept both as regular No. 10s, but that has cast Ross Barkley to a flank, where he's yet to find the same influence he brought last season.
Similarly, with Kevin Mirallas back, his presence alongside the likes of Barkley and Aiden McGeady has left Everton with too many similar, explosive options: Players who want to get their head down and dribble, instead of pass, move and combine in the final third.
For this game, Martinez would be wise to revert Barkley back to his favoured No. 10 berth.
He should also keep Mirallas out wide, but use a player more likely to pass his way through a defence—such as Steven Pienaar or Leon Osman—in the other wide slot.
That would leave Eto'o, McGeady and Naismith (if fit) to provide impact from the bench in this match.
Hull's Lack of Threat in Attack
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Hull's biggest concern ahead of this game will be their lack of goals in recent weeks.
Rather worryingly, the Tigers have scored just one goal in five Premier League games and haven't netted twice in a match since October.
It's not just a lack of goals that will be alarming Bruce, either. Currently, the Tigers are the Premier League's least productive attacking team, averaging the fewest shots per game (9.2) of any side.
Add that to the fact they have conceded the second-most shots per game (17.4) and it becomes the kind of equation to suggest relegation is a genuine possibility.
Bruce will hope Nikica Jelavic arrives fired up to face his former club and begins improving these numbers.
The Battle of the Full-Backs
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These two teams have either under-performed, or been inconsistent to be where they currently sit in the Premier League table.
Four players that haven't, though, are the full-backs of both sides.
All four of Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Ahmed Elmohamady and Andrew Robertson are key to their side's attack and have played well this season.
Baines has been in relentless creative form, creating 30 chances in the 12 games he's played. That ranks him eighth-best among all Premier League players and first among defenders.
To put Everton's reliance on his supply in context, the next most creative player has created just 15 chances.
On the right, Coleman is Everton's third-most creative player, with 11 chances, but he is also far more of a scoring threat from open play, already notching three goals (in all competitions) this season.
For Hull, there is similar bias on Elmohamady and Robertson in terms of creativity. Between them, the full-back tandem have created 28 chances, 16 from Elmohamady and 12 from Robertson.
As of yet, no other Hull player has reached double figures.
Expect all four men to be prominent, adventurous and potentially decisive in this game.
Everton's Procession of Mistakes
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Finally, a feature of this game may be Everton's accommodating play at the back.
After taking the lead through Kevin Mirallas' wonder strike against Tottenham, the Toffees proceeded to gift their opponents a route back into the game, as has been a recurring theme all season.
First, Tim Howard's timid parry presented Christian Eriksen with an equaliser, before Gareth Barry's uncharacteristic lapse allowed Roberto Soldado to score the winner.
These individual errors were the seventh and eighth to lead directly to a goal by an Everton player this season, making the Toffees the most error-prone side in the division.
If this trend continues, Hull will fancy their chances of ending their scoring woes on Wednesday.
Statistics via WhoScored.com and Squawka.com.
