All out attack
There’s a lot to be excited about as the Premier League is starting up again, with a whole host of ambitious teams looking to prove themselves. Two of those are hotly-tipped Everton and Wolves, who go head-to-head in their Premier League opener. Both have invested huge sums over the summer especially in attack. I feel like we’re going to get a good show out of these two even though it’s their first game.
Wolves
It’s always difficult before the first round of matches to decide how it’s going to go. Wolves were by far the superior of the Championship sides last season. Now we take into account their transfer activity and they look even stronger. They’ve brought in Traore, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Rui Patricio and a few others who look sure to take this team to the next level.
There’s a lot of creativity and offensive finesse in this team but they lack overall organisation
In preseason it was clear to see how some of these names haven’t quite yet gelled with losses against Derby and Villareal. The positive was that they managed to bag goals in both of these warm-ups, but to score and concede goals match after match was also Wolves’ script last season. They managed to net 82 goals in total and let in 39 over 46 matches.
It’s hard to draw parallels from last season’s Championship winning effort, but my gut tells me that this is a team which will continue to bleed goals. It’s true there’s a lot of creativity and offensive finesse in this team but they lack overall organisation and need time for players to bed in on the pitch.
Everton
Everton are going into the 2018/19 with a lot more strength after a serious recruitment drive. They tempted Richarlison, Yerry Mina, André Gomes and Bernard just to name a few. I’m not at all worried about Everton scoring goals. If anything I’m convinced they’ll be a serious offensive threat.
The Toffees will be going into the Wolves match with an unsure and shaky defence
On the contrary, I’m more worried about their defensive line, and it’s shown serious cracks in pre-season with letting letting 10 goals in. They recently lost 2-3 to Valencia and before that 1-4 to Rennes. It’s easy to see that this Everton team needs a bit of work. Like Wolves, the most positive aspect of their season at the moment is that they should find it easy to score goals.
The Toffees will be going into the Wolves match with an unsure and shaky defence, with it as yet unclear which players will start. It’s likely that Baines, Jagielka, Keane and Coleman will make up the backline.
Match Tips
I’m in no doubt that we’ll see goals in this match. There’s going to be a lot of creativity on the field and many skilful attack-minded players like Tosun, Richarlison, Teve and Traore. But I think their defences will leave a lot to be desired. In all likelihood it’s going to have a pre-season edge to it. That’s why I’m going to bet on both teams scoring for odds of 9/10 with William Hill.
