Are Everton heading into another relegation battle this season?

Frank Lampard managed to turn things around at Goodison Park last season, but are they sleepwalking into another relegation battle this season?

With a concerning transfer window so far, we’ve analysed the current squad and looked into their chances of being relegated. 

 

Last season 

There was genuine fear last season coming from Everton that they could have been relegated and in the end they ran it very close. 

They accumulated 39 points in total and finished just four points above the relegation zone in the end. 

Funnily enough, they actually started the season fairly well under Rafa Benitez, who was seen as a controversial appointment at the time.  

Everton won four of their first six Premier League matches and were as high as fifth after gameweek seven. 

After a promising start though, things would quickly unravel for the Toffees. 

They went on to win just one of their next 15 matches and Benitez ultimately lost his job in January and was eventually replaced by Frank Lampard. 

Under Lampard, things weren’t exactly smooth sailing to begin with as they lost five of his opening six matches, but eventually the improvements did come. 

Everton heavily relied on their home form to keep them up and in the end this was just enough. 

Under Lampard they won five of their nine home matches and picked up impressive wins against Chelsea and Manchester United. 

The concern was with their away form as they picked up just 10 points away from home all season. 

No side averaged less than Everton’s 0.52 points per game away from home and this needs to be addressed next season. 

For non-penalty xG Everton ranked as one of the weakest attacking sides in the league with an average of 0.99 per 90.  

Their biggest concern though was regularly conceding high quality chances as they gave away 4.84 shots on target against them per 90, the third highest in the league. 

Jordan Pickford made 114 saves in total and he had a huge role to play in the second half of the season with several man of the match performances. 

 

The loss of Richarlison 

Due to Everton walking the financial tightrope with FFP, it was to be expected that they would lose one of their key assets this season. 

Richarlison was a vital player in their survival bid last season and he will be sorely missed this time around. 

He chipped in with 15 goal contributions last season, which was equivalent to 35% of their total goal output. 

Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be looked at as the man to spearhead Everton’s attack, although he is coming off the back of an injury interrupted season. 

Calvert-Lewin scored five goals in the 1286 minutes he played last season at a rate of 257.2 minutes per goal. 

In his most prolific Premier League season, the striker scored 16 goals and you would imagine he’d have to hit a similar amount this season to account for the loss of Richarlison.  

 

Anthony Gordon 

One of the sparks from last season was the breakthrough of Anthony Gordon, who played 2285 minutes of Premier League football. 

While he still looks to be fairly raw, he brought pace and energy into an Everton side that desperately needed a spark from somewhere. 

The young winger averaged one key pass and 1.1 dribbles per game. 

He only scored four goals, but he actually overperformed his xG by 0.6 goals, which suggests that he is a good finisher when supplied with chances. 

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to several other Premier League sides, but Frank Lampard will be keen to keep him around for next season.  

If he is able to develop a relationship on the pitch with Calvert-Lewin, Everton might just have enough to scrape survival once again.