Everton v Leeds United - key battle for Stuart Dallas, James Rodriguez the dangerman and Graham Smyth's Prediction
and live on Freeview channel 276
Here is the YEP verdict on the key battle to look out for, the man Leeds will need to stop and today's score prediction.
KEY BATTLE
James Rodriguez v Stuart Dallas
Gjanni Alioski's performance against Arsenal was enough to see him retain his place so we could see Dallas in midfield again and with Leeds needing to stick to Rodriguez like glue, who better to do that job? Dallas has, in the past, kept highly skilled attackers quiet and knows the man-to-man marking system like the back of his hand.
EVERTON KEY MAN
James Rodriguez
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDominic Calvert-Lewin's emergence as a potent goal threat and well-rounded centre-forward make him an obvious candidate for Everton's 'one to watch' but Liam Cooper and Robin Koch are both capable of matching a centre-forward's aerial threat. Against Arsenal Cooper's physicality was excellent.
Rodriguez is the one who, even if Leeds' man marking system gets a player close to him, has the ability to play out of pressure and find passes that can hurt the Whites. Everton have a number of threats, however, and Leeds will have to deal with them all.
GRAHAM SMYTH'S VERDICT
Every game brings its own challenges and while Everton are a side with real cause for optimism this season, they don't fit the mould of the teams that cause Leeds the biggest problems.
The Toffees are unlikely to sit deep and allow Leeds to dictate possession, so there will be counter attacking opportunities and the game is likely to be more open than the Leicester and Palace fixtures.
In a game that is in any way open or end to end, Leeds are dangerous. A score draw feels very possible, so I'll go 2-2 with Mateusz Klich on the scoresheet.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.