Saints travel to one of their bogey grounds hoping to make it three wins inside a week. and move into mid table mediocrity.

Its fair to say that older Saints fans dont regard Goodison Park as a happy hunting ground, throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's we didnt do too well there and our final years in the Premier werent great either, so to be going back to the place whilst the Toffee's are riding high in the league after a great start to the season doesnt bode well.

last week's result against Aston Villa was great, but we should bear in mind it was against one of the poorer sides in the division and if we are to pick up points against better sides, then we have to cut out the lapses that still abounded in the 4-1 win.

I cant see Nigel Adkins looking much past his starting XI for the Villa game and whilst it worked well against them, it wont work every week, Ramirez was a revelation in the middle, but the fact still remains that its not central midfielders we are short of, its quality wide men, Everton wont attack us wide as much as some teams, but they will offer an aerial threat through Fellaini and this is where we need to be combative and where the key to the game lies.

For their part yes Everton have had a good start, especially in a deserved win against Man United and they took Swansea apart, but their form has been a little patchy apart from that a 2-0 defeat at West Brom coming just before a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle, so although they will look to finish in the top 7 or 8 this season, they dont have the consistency to hold the third spot in my opinion, which is sad because i would love to see them do that at the expense of the likes of Chelsea or Arsenal.

Saints now need to show that last week was no fluke and that we are ready to step up to the plate premier league wise, attacking is not a problem, but we have to shore up the defence and the one possible change could be at left back where we will find out if Danny Fox was carrying a knock last week or taken off in a tactical change, certainly it benefitted Clyne to play there and cut inside, but Everton away is a different kettle of fish, defensively we are bad enough anyway, playing right footed players on the left is not the preferred choice.

I think Saints can get something out of tommorows game, but I fear that a draw will be as good as it gets, however its been a long time since our last victory at Goodison, so we are due another one.   

Photo: Action Images

SaintIreland added 09:20 - Sep 28 Disagree that they won't be attacking down the wings as much. Those arias balls you speak of are usually coming from those positions. If Clyne takes the left then you would assume Richardson is going to take right and I think he will really struggle with Baines. Hoefully the neeves will have settled now and we will see the saints which came out in the second 45 rather then the first last week. Like you I would be happy with a draw.

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chilcosaint added 10:42 - Sep 28 I would first take issue with the word "mediocrity" applied to a mid-table position at this time. If Saints were to win tomorrow and end up with 6 points from 6 games this would represent a fantastic start to the season given the fixtures we have had, i.e. far from mediocre. I can't see a problem with starting with the XI that started the second half against Villa. The back four of Richardson - Fonte - Yoshida - Clyne looked solid, and is probably the best we have, at least until January.

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darkangelv2 added 10:49 - Sep 28 Fox wasn't injured. He was removed for tactical reasons (there was a better defender on the bench).
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 11:38 - Sep 28 Tomorrow will be a big test for Saints. We'll find out how good (or bad) our defence really is with the new boy Yoshida in there, and hopefully with no Fox at left back. Leighton Baines needs to be controlled as he's been brilliant going forward this season. This means our right winger needs to track his forward runs. This didn't happen at Arsenal when Kieran Gibbs was given free reign. Adkins must put this right. And this means possibly not playing Puncheon if he is not prepared to track back. Tactically it would be much better to play more defensive minded right winger but I'm not sure who we have who could do this? Maybe Richardson at right-back and Clyne at right wing?? Everton will probably have Jelavic and Fellaini up front; who are both incredibly effective players, very powerful in the air, a massive test for Fonte and Yoshida. If Saints can hold strong at the back then we have a chance because I think we'll always score goals with the amount of great attacking options we have. Best hope we've got is to try and dominate the midfield with our 3 against thier two. Play possession football and frustrate the home side/fans. COYR!!

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schatfield added 13:22 - Sep 28 Agree with reedy, hopefully we have no Fox at LB and will be interesting to see who partners Yoshi. Both our other 2 central defenders have been as bad as each other recently, but they will get battered at Goodison. I am a bit nervous about this game. And in goal?
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tiptop added 13:27 - Sep 28 We'll have to score at least 2 goals to get a result. Will Hooiveld get the nod over Fonte with Fellaini's height? hmm. Clyne would be good to put up against Baines but after listening to NA interview I get the feeling it will be Richardson to start RB. My fear with Punch is his giving the ball away when under pressure defending. But I think he'll start. I feel the first prob we have to overcome - almost more than anything else - is getting over run and out-muscled early. Everton will have high energy game, closing down aggressively and making their own luck - like Leeds and Reading and Leicester did last year. Except Everton are better. We need Morgan to have the kind of game he had against Man U and the rest. Its this kind of high energy opponent thats been the root cause of our WORST performances and defeats. If we can match their energy (they have played a strong team in the week), not give the ball away and get our best players at it, we have a great chance. Leeds did it. COYR's!!!!!!!!!!!

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stmichael added 15:36 - Sep 28 It most certainly is preferrable to seeing FOX line up at left back again!
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 18:49 - Sep 28 When Boruc is fully fit he will be our 1st choice keeper without doubt, if he's still as good as he was a few years ago. He's much better than Davies and Gazza. He's a good signing by the club. I guess he was recommended to Cortese by one of his mates on the Fiorentina board. Not sure what Boruc's fitness is like though. I would've expected him to play on Tuesday if he was anywhere near ready. So I reckon Gazza will get the nod again tomorrow.

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schatfield added 19:59 - Sep 28 The official site was talking about his fitness, he even admits he isnt fit at all yet, so reckon it will be a couple of weeks before he starts playing
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SingaporeSaint added 05:57 - Sep 29 I think he'll go with the 2nd half team of last week with one exception Hooiveld in for Fonte. Everton are not especially quick upfront but powerful in the air and as such I expect Jos to come in - is a bit of a risk for me as he needs to be sharper on the deck than so far this season. We need to be especially tight at corners as in the past we fall foul of the second ball or knock down - this seems largely due to zonal marking rather than picking up players.. Jelavic is an intl version of a Billy Sharp in these situations and will punish us if we give him a yard in the box.. I expect Puncheon to play but echo above he needs to keep it better when under pressure. We need to play with the urgency and quality of the second half last week and take the game to them rather than sit back - if we do, we look like a good side and have a chance. Big test.

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simmo400 added 09:33 - Sep 29 Nick the reason why we turned the game against Villa was because or worst defender D FOX went off. He gave the ball away everytime. Clyne is our left back and either butterfield or Richardson can play at right back. If FOX plays left back again they will cut us to pieces I guarantee it.
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vectis added 12:05 - Sep 29 Richardson gave the ball away a bunch of times too. He's no better than fox. No worse but certainly not the answer. The only question about clyne is where Adkins thinks its best to play him. I would like to see him stay at LB despite by (deep) reservations about Richardson. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Fox back in. The rest of the team more or less picks itself with cork and Lee out an probably Mayuka too.

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