Grealish Starts as Everton Face Tough Test at Spurs
Everton travel to north London knowing exactly how hard this usually is. One goal in their last five away games at Tottenham tells its own story. The pattern is bleak. And it needs snapping.
David Moyes has stripped everything back this week. No grand gestures, no big statements, just work. Those around the squad talk about players and staff “mucking in” – a club closing ranks after a mixed start, keeping the noise outside the gates. For Everton right now, quiet feels like progress.
Tottenham are anything but quiet. After a summer spend north of £250 million, they sit on one point from three games and have not scored. That kind of return doesn’t just raise eyebrows, it invites pressure. For Everton, it opens a door. Anyone expecting Spurs to collapse on cue, though, has not been paying attention to this league for long.
Grealish In From the Start
The headline is simple: Jack Grealish starts.
Moyes confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Grealish is ready to go from the off, and that single decision reshapes Everton’s attacking picture. He gives them control in tight spaces, carries the ball through pressure, dictates tempo. He can slow a game to a walking pace or rip it open with a burst. Everton have not had many players like that in recent seasons.
The concern lies a little deeper. There was no firm update on James Garner after he limped off last week, leaving a question mark over the midfield balance. Christian Nørgaard is definitely out and not expected back until after the international break. As it stands, he is the only confirmed absentee, but Garner’s fitness looms large over the team sheet.
The travelling squad offers options, if not an abundance of them. In goal, Jordan Pickford is joined by Mark Travers and King. Defensively, Moyes can turn to Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Jake O'Brien, James Tarkowski, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Higher up the pitch, the pool is deeper but still raw: Harrison Armstrong, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Garner, Hayden Hackney, Merlin Röhl, Charly Alcaraz, Tyler Dibling, Tyrique George, Brennan Johnson, Grealish and Thierno Barry make up the midfield and attacking options.
Shape, Balance and a Big Chance for Hackney
The expectation is that Everton stick with the 4-1-4-1 shape that served them in pre-season. It’s a system that asks a lot of the holding midfielder. If Garner is not ready, Hayden Hackney steps into the spotlight.
He made a real impression from the bench last weekend, sharper than those around him, and looks the natural choice to anchor the side. If he gets the nod, he will be asked to screen, recycle and release – all while Spurs hunt their first goal of the season.
The likely XI reads:
Jordan Pickford; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Hayden Hackney; Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Merlin Röhl, Tyrique George; Thierno Barry.
Across the back four, Mykolenko and Maitland-Niles will need to choose their moments to go, with Branthwaite and Tarkowski dealing with the aerial and physical battle. Hackney should sit in front of them, with Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Röhl tasked with connecting defence to attack and forcing Spurs back.
Tyrique George has earned his place. His recent performances give Moyes little reason to drop him. Ahead of him, Barry is expected to lead the line, asked to stretch Tottenham’s defence and finish the few clear chances Everton tend to get in this fixture.
Thin Bench, Tight Margins
The substitutes’ bench is likely to look light again. That is the reality of Everton’s season and something Moyes will have to navigate week after week.
Travers, Keane and O'Brien provide cover at the back. Armstrong offers late-game energy, the kind of running that can tilt a tiring contest. Alcaraz and Dibling bring a different tempo if Moyes wants more risk and more chaos between the lines. Brennan Johnson, subdued last weekend, still carries obvious motivation and threat if called upon against Spurs.
Garner’s situation could yet shuffle the pack. If he proves ready, he changes the dynamic. If there is any doubt, Moyes is unlikely to gamble this early in the campaign.
Everton Need Precision, Not Just Grit
The assignment is brutally clear. Everton must be organised, aggressive and far more ruthless than on recent visits to this stadium. Effort alone will not be enough.
Shape matters. Concentration matters. But so does the moment when a half-chance drops in the box and someone in blue has to decide the game with one clean strike.
If Grealish takes control early and Hackney brings calm and balance, Everton have a genuine route into this contest. If they retreat, miss their moments and let old habits creep back in, north London could feel painfully familiar by full-time.
Which version of Everton turns up?
