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Key events
1 min James Garner kicks off for Everton – and almost scores himself after nine seconds! He played it all the way back to Pickford, who tromboned a long ball to the edge of the Sunderland area. Barry headed it down to Garner, who whistled a half-volley just wide from 25 yards.
The players are in the tunnel and ready for action. And so is Gary Naylor!
“Just the 261 caps between Granit Xhaka and Idrissa Gana Gueye in the centre of the pitch today,” writes Our Gary. “What would you call them? ‘Star players’ seems a bit too glittery for the kind of work they do, but ‘Super-domestiques’ (as they say in cycling) feels a bit condescending to a pair of seasoned, clever footballers who make the most of what they have.
“I suspect fads and tactics may come and go, but their kind are always needed and they will never go short of a contract until the legs give out.”
Not sure what I’d call them, but every overachieving team needs one.
Everton manager David Moyes didn’t get the warmest welcome on his return to the Stadium of Light.
Louise Taylor
The secrets of Sunderland’s success
The defenders Nordi Mukiele and Trai Hume and the midfielder Enzo Le Fée have been three of Sunderland’s best players this season, but have readily agreed to operate out of positions at times. “We have conversations about it,” says Le Bris. “In modern football, it’s very important to be adaptable.” The ‘side before self’ principle extends to the manager. “As a coach I don’t want to be the main man,” he says. “That’s not my purpose. I want to give knowledge and power to the players. I want them to be able to control situations and fix problems on the pitch.”
Team news
Sunderland are unchanged from their dramatic victory at Chelsea. Thierno Barry replaces Beto in attack for Everton.
Sunderland (3-4-2-1) Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Geertruida; Hume, Xhaka, Sadiki, Reinildo; Traore, Le Fee; Isidor.
Substitutes: Patterson, Neil, Talbi, Brobbey, Rigg, Mayenda, O’Nien, Adingra, Masuaku.
Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; Barry.
Substitutes: Travers, McNeil, Beto, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Rohl, Aznou, Iroegbunam.
Referee Tom Bramall.
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Preamble
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. The Premier League table has been a table of the unexpected for the last couple of months, but now the usual top three – Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool – are in place and that’s the end of the that.
Wrong!
Okay, possibly wrong! Sunderland, the team of the season so far, will jump back up to second if they beat Everton at the Stadium of Light. More importantly, in the grand scheme, a win would take them to 20 points – halfway to reaching 40, though you don’t need that many to avoid relegation any more. In the last two seasons, 27 points would have been enough.
Everton’s relegation battles feel like a thing of the past, even if they are only four points above 18th-placed West Ham. Their away form – a win at Wolves and three defeats – has yet to hit the dizzy heights achieved earlier in the year when David Moyes returned to the club. But two of those defeats were at Anfield and the Etihad, so we shouldn’t read too much into it. At least not yet.
Kick off 8pm.
