Everton Predicted XI vs Tottenham: Grealish Set for First Start
Everton go back to north London knowing exactly how unforgiving this fixture can be. One goal in their last five away games at Tottenham tells its own story. The pattern is bleak, and Everton know it needs breaking.
David Moyes has stripped everything back this week. No grand gestures, no public drama. Just players and staff rolling up their sleeves and getting on with it after a patchy start to the campaign. Quiet suits Everton right now.
Tottenham, though, are the curious ones here. More than £250 million spent in the summer, one point from three games, no goals scored. That kind of return doesn’t just raise eyebrows, it turns up the heat quickly. For Everton, it opens a door. Assume Spurs will crumble, though, and you get punished. Everyone inside Finch Farm knows that.
Grealish call transforms Everton’s plan
The headline decision belongs to Jack Grealish. Moyes confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Grealish is ready to start, and that single call reshapes Everton’s attacking idea.
Grealish offers control. He carries the ball, draws contact, dictates tempo. He can slow a game to walking pace or inject speed in a heartbeat. For an Everton side that has too often chased matches at Tottenham, that kind of grip in advanced areas is priceless.
There is less clarity over James Garner. He limped off last week and Moyes has not given a firm update, leaving a question mark in midfield. Christian Nørgaard is definitely out but expected back after the international break, so for now he is the only confirmed absentee.
The rest of the squad is settled. Jordan Pickford, Mark Travers and King are the goalkeeping options. At the back, Moyes can choose from Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Jake O'Brien, James Tarkowski, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Midfield and attack are built from Harrison Armstrong, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Garner, Hayden Hackney, Merlin Röhl, Charly Alcaraz, Tyler Dibling, Tyrique George, Brennan Johnson, Grealish and Thierno Barry.
Predicted Everton line-up: 4-1-4-1 with Hackney holding
All signs point to Moyes sticking with the 4-1-4-1 used through pre-season. It gives Everton a clear structure, a single pivot and four aggressive options in front.
If Garner is not ready to start, Hayden Hackney is expected to anchor the midfield. He came off the bench last weekend and immediately sharpened Everton’s passing and pressing. He looked fresher than those around him and earned trust in a short cameo.
The likely XI has Pickford in goal, protected by a back four of Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski and Maitland-Niles. Hackney sits in front of them, screening and recycling.
Ahead of him, Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Röhl should form the central creative band, drifting and rotating to give Spurs problems between the lines. Tyrique George has done enough to keep his place out wide, while Thierno Barry is set to lead the line.
Predicted XI: Jordan Pickford; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Hayden Hackney; Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Merlin Röhl, Tyrique George; Thierno Barry.
Thin bench, big decisions
The bench will not scare anyone. That is Everton’s reality this season and Moyes has to live with it.
Travers, Keane and O'Brien provide defensive cover. Armstrong offers late-game legs and pressing. Alcaraz and Dibling can tilt the rhythm if the match drifts or Everton need a different type of creativity. Brennan Johnson was quiet last time out but carries obvious motivation and threat if he gets minutes against Spurs.
Garner’s fitness remains the potential twist. If he proves ready, Moyes has a genuine selection dilemma in the middle of the pitch. If he does not, Everton will not gamble this early in the campaign.
Everton need precision, not just graft
Effort will not be enough at Tottenham. Everton must be compact, nasty in the duels and far more ruthless than on recent visits.
Shape matters. Concentration matters. But so does that one clean finish when the chance finally arrives.
If Grealish settles quickly and Hackney locks the midfield together, Everton have a way into this game and a chance to rewrite an ugly record in north London. If they do not, this could feel painfully familiar.
