Colin Harvey's pre-match briefing

Aug 18 2007

EVERTON go to the Madejski Stadium looking to keep up their 100% record after a fine start to the season.

I was at the Wigan game last Saturday and thought they played reasonably well in what wasn’t a particularly good game.

But on Tuesday it was a really good team performance at Tottenham and despite having moments when they were under pressure they fully deserved the win.

Defence

READING played a man-marker in front of the back four in the first game but this was away to Manchester United. But today they will probably continue with the straightforward 4-4-2 they reverted to against Chelsea in midweek.

They have a solid and tidy back-line but the key for Everton is their lack of pace. This is why they often stay deep as a four and try to push up late to get offsides, something that will be designed to frustrate the runs of Andrew Johnson.

This could, however, play into Johnson’s hands as he likes to play off the shoulder of the last defender and is good at timing his runs.

When the back four stay in a line it also leaves space in behind them and there’s a chance for the wide men to get in, which is what Mikel Arteta and Leon Osman have done so well so far this season.

Leon in particular has enjoyed those darts in and has got the reward for it with two goals in the first two games so if Johnson and Anichebe find runs in behind aren’t giving them any joy, they might find the midfielders are more than willing to be played in.

Midfield

THE system Steve Coppell plays enables him to get a lot of players in the box but Everton are more than capable of coping with this, as they did at White Hart Lane.

If John Oster, for example, has the ball on the right, you’ll find that Stephen Hunt on the opposite flank will go into the box to get on the end of the cross, and vice versa. With one of the central midfielders, probably Gunnarsson, joining in, it means they can get four in the box when they attack.

Cutting off this supply line form the flanks will, therefore be vital, and doubling up on those players could be crucial. David Moyes did actually praise Arteta for his ability to do this in midweek so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Everton have a really good base in the middle and the wide players are on form so they could get a lot of joy in that area. And I think losing Steve Sidwell has taken a lot out of Reading’s midfield this season so it’s time for Everton to capitalise.

Attack

WITH Dave Kitson suspended and Leroy Lita injured, the Irishmen Shane Long and Kevin Doyle are the most likely candidates to start up front. They both look quite similar to me, they seem to like laying the ball off and running into the box to get on the end of crosses.

It’s a case of tracking their movement and staying close to them, especially with Doyle. I’m not sure Long has fully adapted to Premiership football yet, he still looks a bit raw, but Doyle showed last season what a danger he is when darting into the box. He needs to be watched.

It’s just a case of Everton defenders doing what they always do best and they should be able to handle him.

Danger man

KEVIN DOYLE had a great start to last season until he did his hamstring at Goodison. He’s still, however, one of the brightest sparks in the Premier League and I can see him becoming a top player this season.

Overall verdict

EVERTON had a great result down there last year and I can see them getting another one. They haven’t scraped their two wins so far, they’ve fully deserved them and they’re more than capable of making it three out of three.

Colin Harvey was talking to NICK SMITH