After the Premier League restart last season this fixture was one of the games played and it left Everton supporters in disgust.
Wolves dominated from first minute to last as Everton struggled to mount a singular dangerous attack with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team winning 3-0.
Fast forward seven months and Everton are levels ahead of were they was back then with Wolves themselves not performing at the level they once were currently sitting in 13th place.
However, after a 1-0 loss to West Ham in the last league game Carlo Ancelotti needs to see a reaction from his side, he didn’t really see one in the FA Cup as Rotherham were the better side for the majority of the 90 minutes just falling short in extra time.
His side will have to come up with a reaction without top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has picked up an injury.
In his press conference Ancelotti said: “He had a little problem during the week before West Ham, but for the fact he has never had this kind of injury he wasn’t able to judge himself. We want to keep him safe and, when he comes back, to be 100%.
“With an important player like Dominic, we have to be able to replace him in a different way. We have to adapt for this, for sure we will be less dangerous on crosses but perhaps we can be more dangerous with the final pass.”
Adapting in a different way might be difficult especially with back-up striker Cenk Tosun barely having any game time this season.
The Turkish international did play the 120 minutes in the FA Cup and did score but this is against much tougher opposition, but he might be looking to put himself in the shop window so an impressive performance could be on the cards.
There was some controversy with Tosun’s celebration against Rotherham, but the FA did investigate and have left it meaning he will be available to start.
Ancelotti praised Tosun saying: “Cenk did well against Rotherham, he was focused in the box. He was out for a long time, his condition is not at the top, but of course it will be useful to have a striker who is used to scoring goals.”
As well as missing Calvert-Lewin due to injury Everton will be missing key midfielder Allan who is still out injured and will be for at least another ten days whilst his Brazilian teammate Richarlison will have a late check meaning a lot of important players could be out making the game that more difficult.
Wolves themselves have not been in great form even though they won their FA Cup third round game against Crystal Palace, as they have not won a league game in four matches.
Like Everton, Wolves will have a striker issue for the game, but the West Midlands club have had striker issues ever since Raul Jimenez has been injured with a fractured skull.
Fabio Silva has not performed up to his £35 million price tag and has struggled with speedy Pedro Neto being their most dangerous player who would cause Seamus Coleman some serious problems due to his lack of speed which has been evident in recent weeks.
We will have to see whether Nuno goes with his trustworthy three at the back formation or the four at the back he has used this season leaving Ancelotti with some tactical decisions as the Italian could go to three at the back himself.
Both sides need a win for different reasons and both sides have just gone through into the next round of the FA Cup, therefore an interesting spectacle awaits to distract us from this miserable lockdown.
Written by Elliot Thompson
