Everton Pursue Statement Win at Spurs as Moyes Faces Tough Decisions
Everton head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday with something they have not carried on the road for a while: momentum.
Unbeaten after four Premier League games, with two wins and two draws, David Moyes’s side sit eighth on five points and arrive in north London with a touch of late‑drama swagger still clinging to them.
Last weekend, Ainsley Maitland-Niles lit up stoppage time against Manchester United, thundering in a 25-yard equaliser to salvage a point and stretch that early-season run. It felt like a moment that can change the mood around a club. The table still looks modest; the belief does not.
The problem? Away days.
Everton have not won in their last six league games on the road. Worse, they have lost five Premier League away matches in a row against Spurs specifically. Every trip here has become a reminder of how far they still have to go. Saturday offers a chance to flip that story.
Moyes’s midfield puzzle
Team selection will tell plenty about Moyes’s intent.
James Garner is not yet considered fully fit after the injury that opened the door for Maitland-Niles to step in and seize his moment. With Garner still short, Hayden Hackney is in line to continue in central midfield after impressing against United, where he set up Tyrique George’s leveller.
Hackney is expected to partner Harrison Armstrong at the base of a 4-2-3-1, giving Everton legs and passing range in the middle against a Spurs side that rarely let visitors breathe.
Maitland-Niles, having gone from impact substitute to late-game hero, is set to continue at right-back in place of auxiliary defender Merlin Rohl. His energy on the flank and willingness to step into midfield could be vital if Everton try to disrupt Spurs high up the pitch rather than simply absorb pressure.
Grealish ready to step back into the spotlight
Further forward, one change looks almost inevitable.
Jack Grealish, back in Everton colours after his second debut for the club, is expected to reclaim Brennan Johnson’s place in the starting XI. The move would give Moyes extra craft between the lines and another player capable of holding the ball under pressure when Spurs squeeze the game.
Christian Norgaard remains sidelined until October, leaving him as Moyes’s only other fitness concern. The spine is largely intact; the choices are tactical, not enforced.
If Moyes sticks with his recent blueprint, Everton should line up like this:
Pickford; Maitland-Niles, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Armstrong, Hackney; George, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; Barry.
That XI carries a blend of grit and guile, with Kieran Dewsbury-Hall tasked with linking midfield to attack and Liam Barry leading the line, chasing lost causes and asking awkward questions of the Spurs defence.
Stage, stakes and a stubborn record
Kick-off is at 17:30 on Saturday, 12 September 2026, under the lights and the noise of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.
For Everton, it is more than just another away fixture. It is a test of whether this unbeaten start is the beginning of something serious or a pleasant early-season run waiting to be punctured by an old problem.
Break the hoodoo in north London, and the narrative around Moyes’s men shifts again. Fail, and that away record starts to loom even larger over the months ahead.
