Everton manager David Moyes says his side must make visiting teams “far less comfortable” at the Hill Dickinson Stadium ahead of the Blues’ Tuesday night fixture against Bournemouth.
Everton lie eighth in the Premier League after a 2-1 comeback victory away at Fulham on Saturday, their third away win in four games.
But the results away from home have not translated over to the Hill Dickinson, where Moyes’ men have only won four of their 12 home games.
The Toffees must improve their home record if they are to continue challenging for a European spot, with Brentford currently occupying the provisional UEFA Conference League position in seventh.
When asked about the potential for European football next season, Moyes refused to get carried away, but was happy the conversation was about that rather than relegation.
“I’m pleased we’re talking about European football rather than the other end of the table,” he said.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, but if we can hang in the battle, you never know.”
Everton haven’t finished higher than 13th in the Premier League since a 10th-place finish in the COVID-19-affected 2020/21 season, including two relegation survivals in 2022 and 2023.
Moyes knows of the opportunity at stake, but warns Everton need to do better to achieve this.
“For us to do it, we are probably going to have to win some games we are not expected to”.
The Scot knows what it is like to bring European football to Everton, having done so on four occasions, most notably in 2004/05 when he guided the Blues to their highest ever league position of fourth.
Moyes is equally conscious of the threat Bournemouth will bring this evening, who come into the game in good form, despite losing star forward Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City in the January transfer window.
Andoni Iraola’s side have three wins in their last five, with only Manchester United and Chelsea picking up more points than the Cherries in that period.
Rayan Vitor cancelled out Morgan Roger’s goal as Bournemouth drew 1-1 with Aston Villa in their previous outing.
The reverse fixture back in December saw Jack Grealish’s deflected strike give Everton their first ever league win at the Vitality Stadium on their ninth attempt.
The Manchester City loanee addressed in a social media post this week that he had undergone successful surgery for the foot injury that has ruled the midfielder out for the season.
Moyes confirmed that Grealish was Everton’s only injury concern and is pleased about the selection choice he currently has.
“It was a far harder task when we had so few players to pick from”.
It remains to be seen if Jarrad Branthwaite can find his way back into Everton’s starting XI, after he was dropped from left-back for Vitalii Mykolenko on Saturday.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, travel to Merseyside without midfield duo Justin Kluivert and Tyler Adams, who are side-lined with knee injuries, with the former ruled out for the next two months.
The Cherries are also missing Ben Gannon-Doak and Marcus Tavernier with thigh problems.
A win for Everton tonight will see them go sixth, above their Merseyside rivals Liverpool, who can respond away at Sunderland tomorrow.
More importantly, a win will see Everton reach the threshold of 40 points, something they have only reached in two of their last four seasons, and with 12 games to spare.
The Cherries will move to 9th with a victory, and could leapfrog Everton with a win by two goals or more, as they look to get their second away win on the bounce.
(Featured Image used free under licence from Alamy Images)
