Match Report

Everton remain entrenched in a battle for Premier League survival after losing for the 15th time in 19 games thanks to a Conor Coady goal scored early in the second half.

The Blues finished the game with 10 men after Jonjoe Kenny's rash tackle in Raul Jimenez earned him a second yellow card but Frank Lampard's team looked beaten well before the defender received his marching orders from referee Michael Oliver.

The manager had rung some changes in his starting XI by dropping Michael Keane and Allan to the substitutes' bench and drafting in Vitalii Mykolenko, Ben Godfrey and Demarai Gray while Dominic Calvert-Lewin was forced to sit out due to illness.

However, after an energetic start that was disrupted by the protracted substitution of Hwang Hee-chan, Everton soon lost their way against a very well-organised and smooth Wolves outfit who weathered the early storm from the home side and took control of the game but without every really looking likely to run away with it.

Richarlison had had a couple of early chances, the first an ambitious 25-yard half-volley that dropped wide and then another effort that was blocked behind well by Jose Sa in the Wolves goal following a sumptuous ball over the top for the Brazilian by Mykolenko.

Gray was then played in at the far post on the other side from a cross by Seamus Coleman after another nice chipped ball down the line, this time from Anthony Gordon, but Sa was equal to it again.

Wolves had started to get the measure of their opponents but didn't make Jordan Pickford work until Daniel Podence's shot deflected off Mason Holgate before the keeper saved well from Jimenez but the officials pulled the play back in any case for a foul by the Mexican on Mykolenko.

Jimenez would have the last chance of the first half, an acrobatic overhead kick that flew well over but Wolves would take the lead early in the second half following successive sloppy fouls by Everton's full-backs, the latter by Kenny on Leander Dendoncker.

Richarlison initially headed the free-kick away but insufficient pressure was exerted to prevent Ruben Neves from swinging in a cross that Coady simply had to guide past Pickford with a well-placed header.

The visitors almost doubled their lead four minutes later when Jimenez swept a Joao Moutinho free-kick narrowly wide of Pickford's left-hand post and Podence went close with a low shot while, at the other end, Gordon continued to lead the charge for Everton and his whipped cross was headed off the woodwork by Richarlison but was adjudged to have been offside regardless.

Lampard withdrew Mykolenko for Dele Alli with an hour gone in an attempt to try and coax some attacking threat and fluidity out of his side but the Blues remained depressingly impotent moving the ball through midfield.

Richarlison was again put into a dangerous position, this time by Dele, but was, again, ruled fractionally offside and Sa had taken the ball off his toes anyway as the forward tried to round him on the way to goal.

The Brazilian despatched a snap shot into the side-netting off a Gray pass before the latter was replaced by Andros Townsend but what chance there was of Everton salvaging anything from the match evaporated when Kenny committed his second bookable offence.

Francisco Trincao had a late chance to rub salt into Everton's wounds with a curling effort from just outside the box that drifted wide while Townsend was handed the chance to be a last-ditch hero but he missed the target with a direct free-kick after Moutinho had tripped Coleman on the edge of the area.

With both Watford and Leeds winning elsewhere, Everton will go into another vitally important home game on Thursday against Newcastle sitting just a point above 19th place having won just two League games in almost six months.

With games running out, Lampard needs to find a way of picking up points to stave off the gravest threat from relegation Everton have faced in 25 years.

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Updates

Everton return to Goodison Park for a must-win game that they lost through abject negativity epitomized by Doucouré's incessant backward play.

Ben Godfrey and Demarai Gray are back in the side after recovering from injury. Abdoulaye Doucouré and Donny van de Beek continue in midfield, with Allan on the bench along with Keane, who has been suffering from illness for some weeks.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is dropped from the squad after a really poor display against Spurs, but it's because he is ill. No young players involved, not even Jarrad Branthwaite, who has acquitted himself with calm confidence.

Seamus Coleman retains his place as captain despite the mounting years robbing him of vital pace that is so essential in the modern Premier League.

Yerry Mina and Tom Davies are now the only senior players sidelined through injury.

It was a beautiful spring day on Merseyside as the teams took to the field and Donny van de Beek kicked off after a nice tribute to Gordon Lee, who died last week.

Richarlison had an early shot towards goal but off-target. Gray tried to make something happen down the right but it came to nothing.

Connor Coady upended Richarlison to give away a free-kick that won the first corner for Everton, Gray so close to connecting with Richarlison at the near post. But it led to a Wolves free-kick which needed defending.

A brilliant ball forward from Mykolenko to Richarlison should have seen him score but he wanted an extra touch rather than shooting first time and Sa ut it behind for a corner that was defended clear.

Everton looked to have played out the back but Coleman's pass back to Gordon was poor. Van de Beek then put his knee in the back of Hwang, who needed treatment before he finally went off for Podence... or not!

That at least got the crowd a bit more involved, amid a poor throw-in call and Hwang dropping for a third and final time.

Everton had possession but did not feel comfortable playing forward, passing it back to Pickford not once but twice! Really poor. Everton continued with this nonsense until Demarai Gray was fouled, but could still not play it forward until brilliant work by Gordon set Coleman free and he played it into Gray who should have smashed it the first time but didn't.

From the corner, Godfrey fired wide. Gordon put in a great cross, but just too far in front of Richarlison and easy meat for Sa to collect.

Godfrey did well to steal from Podence but there was just no forward movement until Godfrey played what seemed to be a great pass to Coleman but he was flagged offside. Another good forward ball but Richarlison wrongly flagged offside as the Wolves high line won again.

Gray final came forward with the ball only for Mykolenko to take it back into the Everton half and ultimately Pickford. Gordon played a nice through ball but equidistant from Coleman and DOucoure, running through to Sa.

Wolves put together an almost attack through Podence, their first of the game, that Everton defended. But Wolves were seeing more of the ball, Mutinhp shooting off-balance at Pickford.

Neves clipped Gordon as he played forward, and Gray with the free-kick ended up with Holgate winning a corner. Gray swung this one in to the danger area but Coady headed it clear.

Kenny did wells as the pace finally improved but Richarlison could do nothing with the cross and Wolves looked to counter, but Kenny was fouled.

But Everton were almost caught out down their left, Wolves winning their first corner. Podence went down after Pickford smacked him on the cheek, leading to an inquest. The corner was eventually cleared but Wolves came back, Jiminez allowed to get off a wicked shot that Pickford saved near post.

Wolves were looking increasingly brighter, Podence feeding Jiminez for an acrobatic shot that went over. Everton attacked in response but not fast enough as the Wolves defence reformed rapidly.

Gray did well to find Coleman playing wing-back but he was not tricky enough to make anything of it. However, Coady gave away a cheap corner. Could Everton do anything better here? It hit Holgate on the head and was cleared, allowing Wolves to break, Mykolenko doing a good job on Podence.

Added time was played out and Everton had not really done much to challenge the Wolves defence, playing far too slowly and negatively in a game where it was vital that they score.

Mykolenko was drawn into a very poor foul after the restart. It was messed up by Wolves but Kenny stupidly kicked the ball into non-man's land rather than initiating a quick counter.

Kenny then did the same thing on the other side of the Everton area another soft foul given up cheaply, Richarlison heading away but on the recycle, Coady headed home with ease.

And so the momentum was now completely going thee way of the away side and Everton with yet another soul-destroying task to dig their way out of this one.

Doucouré was called for another soft foul and another dangerous free-kick, Jiminez firing wide with Everton not defending it well.

Gordon did well and crossed in low to Richarlison but he could not fashion a shot. Wolves countered and fired just wide.

Gordon produced another wonderful cross and Richarlison's header clipped the outside to the post but the Brazilian was a few inches offside. Dele Alli replaced Mykolenko just before the hour mark.

Gordon tried to launch one for Richarlison to run on to but Sa was all over it, and Wolves almost countered, Pickford stopping a low cross.

More energy and desire was needed from Everton going forward but the thought process was just too slow. If anything, Wolves were benefitting and seeing more space opening up.

Wolves won a corner that came to nothing. Gordon ran forward again down the right wing but the other players were slow to get forward into decent positions in the area.

Richarlison got forward again, wide left, but could not make the pass to Alli waiting in the middle. Richarlison went on another good run through the middle but after a long pause, the offside flag went up yet again.

Doucouré, again and again, passed back rather than forward. But Gray went forward and fed Richarloison who finally shot first time, into the side netting as Townsend replaced Gray.

Kenny decide to at least shoot but it was frankly hopeless as Everton and the crowd became more and more desperate with time ticking away. Kenny made a silly lunge on Jiminez, second yellow and off. Everton down to 10 men for the last 10 minutes, as if it could get any worse.

Neves had a free shot that Pickford saved. Dele Alli got forward for another long ball but his first touch was poor and he was offside.

Godfrey was booked for a foul on sub Trincao. Dele Alli rather riskily fouled Sa as he went to slowly pick up a ball but Michael Oliver was generous.

Doucouré again played it backwards and then gave it way in midfield, possibly the worst game ever from him? Wolves galloped forward, Trincao firing just over the angle as the game went into added time with Everton looking incapable of beating the Wolves high-line offside trap.

Coleman drew a late free-kick that Townsend failed to curl into the far corner and that was pretty much it. Another maddening home defeat.

Kick-off: 2:00 pm GMT, Sunday 13 March 2022

Everton: Pickford, Holgate [Y:70'], Godfrey [Y:84'], Coleman, Mykolenko (59' Dele Alli), Kenny [Y:75'; YR:79'], Doucoure, Van de Beek, Gray (73' Townsend), Gordon, Richarlison.
Subs: Begovic, Keane, Allan, Iwobi, Gomes, Rondon, El Ghazi.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa, Marcal, Neves, Jiménez (88' Silva) , Coady [Y:63'], Jonny, Kilman, Hwang (15' Podence), Saïss, Moutinho, Dendoncker (83' Trincao).
Subs: Ruddy, Aït-Nouri, Boly,Chiquinho, Toti, Cundle.

Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Lee Mason

Michael Kenrick

Match Preview

Everton return to Goodison Park for the first of two huge games that offer them a chance to lift themselves away from the bottom three.

The Blues were saved the ignominy of kicking off against Wolves on Sunday sitting in the bottom three after Burnley lost at Brentford and Frank Lampard's side will have at least two games in hand on all the teams around them in the fight to beat the drop,

They're coming off the shock of Monday's thrashing by Tottenham, yet another failure away from home, but they will be heartened by the fact that both this fixture against Bruno Lage's team and Thursday's clash with improving Newcastle will be in front of another passionate Goodison crowd.

Lampard has overseen four games at the Grand Old Lady and won all three, with the outlier being an encouraging but cruelly fruitless display against Champions and League leaders, Manchester City, a reflection of just how much a stadium packed with Evertonians does for a group of players that has won just twice in the Premier League since September.

A rocking Goodison will be vital again this weekend against a Wolves side that has defied most expectations during Lage's first season in England. Despite losing three of their last four games, the Midlanders sit in eighth spot at the bottom of a leading clutch of clubs that have broken away from the rest of the division.

They ended a three-match losing blip on Thursday evening by hammering Watford 4-0 at Molineux with striker Raul Jimenez back in the starting XI and, as such, will travel with renewed confidence. They also welcomed back Willy Boly and Jony but Ki-Jana Hoever and Nelson Semedo are ruled out.

Everton, meanwhile, have been boosted by the news that both Ben Godfrey and Demarai Gray have resumed full training and are in contention for Sunday's all-important clash.

Godfrey has missed the last six games in all competitions after suffering a hamstring tear in Frank Lampard's first match in charge early last month and, after a fortnight's individual work, rejoined the first team this past week as the final part of his recovery.

Gray, meanwhile, has only featured for 13 minutes as a substitute since having to come off in the match after the Brentford tie at Newcastle United with a hip problem. He subsequently came down with a virus and was unavailable for the tie against Boreham Wood and Monday's defeat at Tottenham.

Both players could play important roles in a game that has assumed out-sized significance given that the Blues have lost three Premier League matches in succession and come into the weekend sitting just a point and a place above the relegation zone.

Defeats for Leeds, Watford and Norwich yesterday will have helped their cause but, like Newcastle have done under Eddie Howe, Everton now need to start helping themselves by picking up wins in the back-to-back home games against Wolves and the Magpies.

As ever, the key for the Toffees will be a strong start to keep the crowd on-side and a consistent intensity over the 90 minutes. Lampard has hinted that there could be changes to the team that faced Spurs based on performances and attitude but didn't give anything away in his pre-match press conference.

There are cases to be made for a number of players. Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be taken out of the forward line after struggling in North London as he tries to rediscover his sharpness but he performed well against Leeds the last time the Blues won a game. Likewise, Allan and Donny van de Beek have struggled away from home but been impressive at Goodison while Seamus Coleman has betrayed his age at times in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Dele Alli is still yet to start for Everton and Gray's return adds another option in the forward line.

Kick-off: 2pm, Sunday, 13 March, 2022
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Lee Mason
Last Time: Everton 1 - 0 Wolves

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Godfrey, Kenny, Allan, Van de Beek, Doucouré, Gordon, Gray, Richarlison

Lyndon Lloyd

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