Indeed, what they will undoubtedly try to do against Manchester United on Saturday – get straight into them and knock them out of their stride. Unfortunately, they will have to do that without two of their more combative individuals: Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill.
It’s a big blow losing both of them, and the news that Fellaini is out for the rest of the season seems especially cruel given that he was enjoying the best form of his short Everton career.
As ever, the onus is on the other players to fill the gap, with Leon Osman surprising everyone with his tough-tackling style in the last couple of matches. The player with the biggest opportunity though is Jack Rodwell.
He has yet to build on last season’s promise, so this is the time for him to step forward and show that he genuinely has got what it takes to perform consistently at the top level.
And he can start by cutting out lazy passes like the one that bamboozled Sylvain Distin on Tuesday.
