Everton entered November in the top half of the Premier League, but after suffering a third straight defeat last Monday, they are glancing nervously behind them with a tough run of fixtures on the horizon.
The expected gauntlet begins with a home clash against Tottenham, whom they last beat in a league meeting at Goodison Park back in December 2012.
The hosts nearly amended that back in April during the most recent head-to-head, but only managed a 2-2 draw, despite rallying after conceding first for the fourth time in five competitive home head-to-heads.
Here in the present, meanwhile, Everton’s man-marking frailties remain problematic, with the Toffees conceding via corners in all three of their defeats preceding this clash versus Tottenham boss Antonio Conte enjoyed a winning start to life in the Spurs hot seat on Thursday, guiding his new side to a crazy 3-2 win over Vitesse.
With Tottenham also scoring multiple times in four of their last five trips to Goodison Park, he could well add to a perfect return from his last three league debuts with a new club.
Players to watch: Alex Iwobi has seen three of his six prior Everton goals arrive within the opening 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Spurs’ opening midweek scorer, Son Heung-Min, netted decisively in the Lilywhites’ most recent Premier League away win