Everton Predicted XI vs Tottenham: Grealish's Impact on Moyes’ Attack
Everton go to north London knowing exactly what usually happens there. One goal in their last five away games at Tottenham. One. The record screams at them every time the fixture list comes around.
History doesn’t decide this one, but it does underline the size of the task. This is a pattern David Moyes has to snap.
Moyes keeps it tight, Spurs under early strain
Moyes has stripped things back this week. No grand gestures, no noise, just work. Those around the squad talk about players and staff “mucking in” and that fits the mood: a group trying to steady themselves after a mixed start rather than light the sky up with headlines.
On the other side, Tottenham arrive under a very different kind of spotlight. More than £250 million spent in the summer, one point from three games, no goals scored. That combination turns the temperature up quickly in north London.
For Everton, it opens a door. For anyone assuming Spurs will simply fold, it’s a reminder they haven’t been paying attention to this league for long.
Grealish call changes everything
The headline decision is Jack Grealish. Moyes used his pre-match press conference to confirm the England international is ready to start, and that single sentence reshapes Everton’s entire attacking picture.
Grealish gives them control in tight areas, carries the ball through pressure and dictates tempo – slowing the game down when it needs air, snapping it forward when space appears. Everton have lacked that kind of conductor in recent visits to this ground.
Midfield, though, still comes with a question mark. There was no clear update on James Garner after he limped off last week, leaving his availability in doubt. Christian Nørgaard remains out, with the expectation that he will return after the international break. As it stands, he is the only confirmed absentee.
Moyes’ squad for the trip is otherwise well stocked. Jordan Pickford, Mark Travers and King provide the options in goal. At the back he can turn to Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Jake O'Brien, James Tarkowski, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Further forward, the pool is deeper and more experimental: Harrison Armstrong, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Garner, Hayden Hackney, Merlin Röhl, Charly Alcaraz, Tyler Dibling, Tyrique George, Brennan Johnson, Grealish and Thierno Barry are all in contention.
Shape, balance and a bold front line
Everton are expected to stick with the 4-1-4-1 shape that has been a recurring theme through pre-season. It gives Moyes a solid spine and room to squeeze both control and running power into midfield.
If Garner is not ready to start, Hayden Hackney is in line to anchor the middle. His cameo from the bench last weekend changed the feel of the game; he looked sharper, cleaner and more decisive than those around him. That counts.
The likely XI reads: Pickford in goal; a back four of Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski and Maitland-Niles. Hackney sitting deepest, with Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Röhl providing the legs and craft ahead of him.
Out wide, Tyrique George has done enough to keep his place. He brings direct running and a willingness to attack full-backs that Everton will need if they’re to stretch Spurs. Through the middle, Thierno Barry is expected to lead the line, asked to occupy centre-backs, chase lost causes and turn half-chances into something more.
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, tight calls
The bench will likely look light again. That’s the reality of Everton’s season and a puzzle Moyes has to solve on a weekly basis.
Travers, Keane and O'Brien cover the defensive positions. Armstrong offers late-game energy, the sort of pressing and running that can tilt the final 20 minutes. Alcaraz and Dibling are the change-of-pace options, players who can alter the rhythm if the match starts to drift.
Brennan Johnson was quiet last weekend but his motivation needs no explanation. If he gets the nod from the bench, he has the tools – and the narrative – to influence this fixture.
Garner’s fitness remains the big variable. If he proves ready, Moyes has a different set of choices in midfield. If not, there is little sense in forcing him at this stage of the campaign and risking a longer absence.
Everton need precision, not just perspiration
The assignment is brutally clear. Everton must be organised, aggressive and far more ruthless than they have been on recent trips to Tottenham. Effort will not be enough on its own.
Shape matters. Concentration matters. So does what happens in those fleeting moments when chances appear. This is where Grealish’s calm on the ball and Hackney’s balance without it become central to any plan of escape.
If those pieces click early, Everton have a way into the contest and a chance to rewrite an ugly record in this corner of north London. If they don’t, it risks becoming exactly what they have seen here too often before: a long, draining afternoon that asks, yet again, how far this team has really moved on.
